The Captive Swordsman
by Wrathie Winsre
Summary: It was he who took her place when everything should have ended, so now it was her turn to save him, just like how he saved everyone else. With a stunning role reversal, where the Princess shall save the Prince, a story of how the Flash would save the Black Swordsman, even if she might lose everything in the process.
1. Divergence Theory

**The Captive Swordsman**

**Chapter 1 - Divergence Theory**

**..**

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: So, here we go again. First of all, I must say that this entire story, and plotline was inspired by two things:**

**1) SAO's OP, "c****_rossing field"_**

**2) How I was absolutely dismayed at how Asuna went from the ****_Flash_**** to just a captive princess waiting to be saved. **

**Seriously? At least in the anime it seemed like that.**

**But the usual messages: Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

**..**

It had been two months after the Sword Art Online incident, two months where Yuki Asuna had spent every single day remembering what had happened on November 7th, where Kirito, no... Kirigaya Kazuto-kun had cleared Sword Art Online.

Her memories of the event had been hazy and rightly so, for she had 'died' before that act had came to be. She didn't know what happened or why she had been able to move despite being paralyzed before, but all she knew was that she had to move.

She had to, or else Kirito-kun was going to die in front of her. Even if he had told her that she would win, even if he had been the one who wanted to protect her, she too knew that even if Kayaba Akihiko promised Kirito-kun that he would keep her alive and not allow her to die after the duel, she would have taken her life anyway.

Just like how he would have done in her shoes, so she had moved, and had taken that lethal hit for Kirito-kun. All she remembered was feeling cold, and empty even as her HP bar depleted itself. It made her also aware of how fragile life itself was. She was one of the strongest, and highest leveled players in SAO, and she was killed with a single hit.

With her HP bar depleting fast, and knowing that she was going to die, with her vision slowly fading to black, all she had time to do was to say goodbye to Kirito-kun.

Not to tell him to live, for she knew that he would join her.

Not to apologize, for she knew that he would have gone ahead with the duel anyway. But to tell him that she would be waiting for him, only to be unable to do so at the very last second. What would Kirito-kun think of her final words then?

It was selfish, it was illogical, and it was utterly heartbreaking. But she would have wanted Kirito-kun to join her, perhaps in their final defiance against Kayaba Akihiko for denying them their wish to be together. If they couldn't be together in life, then let them be together with death.

Asuna knew that she might reflect badly on others who would have expected her to give Kirito-kun her blessings to live on, to find a new life even if she was gone.

But she wouldn't, she would never have accepted it, for she knew, she believed, and she was certain that she was the one for him. And he was the one to her, if he had been the one to take that last blow for **her**, she would be the one to land the killing blow on Kayaba Akihiko like Kirito-kun did.

She would not have believed that Kirito-kun would have wanted her to live on, to continue on without her. Call her selfish, call her evil, call her anything you liked. She wanted Kirito-kun, she wanted to be with him and to be his only. That was the extent of her wanting for Kirito-kun. It may be crazy, but love itself could drive people insane in the first place right?

..

The last few moments of SAO was like a dream, as if they were angels looking down on the slowly disintegrating world of Sword Art Online. It was.. surreal, and she wasn't paying much attention to Kayaba Akihiko for she was too busy feeling loved, feeling relieved, feeling exhilaration that Kirito had, like she had expected, had done exactly what she had tried to do.

He had tried to join her, but still managed to kill Kayaba in the process. She always did know Kirito would fulfill his promises.

That was perhaps the stupidest, and yet the most loved Asuna had ever felt in her entire life. That the both of them would die for each other's sake.

It was also the day where Asuna swore to herself that she would never place herself in such a situation where Kirito-kun would have to do the same thing all over again.

For he had done so once**, **soon after he had joined her guild, where he was almost killed by a Player-killerand he had put his life on the line to save her, after she tried to save him. It was strangely annoying and yet relieving at the same time when one looked back at it. For it proved that for all he did not tell him, and all that she had hidden from him, the feelings they had for each other were mutual, and stronger than either of them had ever imagined it to be.

..

After that, when SAO truly was destroyed and all Asuna could see was white, all she had were a sequence of events that Asuna couldn't quite clearly remember, yet remembered clearly as well.

She remembered Kirito-kuns voice anxious voice calling out to her, she being caught between a tug-of-war between two parties before one side had given up and had allowed her to go.

What she remembered very clearly though, was the feeling of immense loss when Kirito-kun's arm was wrenched from her grasp, leaving her gasping for air.

She woke up screaming, despite her throat feeling like sandpaper and her entire body as weak as a newborn, she continued screaming. It had hurt to scream, and it had hurt to cry, but Asuna still didn't stop. For she was certain that somehow, someway, that idiot had managed to do something for her that she could never possibly repay, but he had paid a terrible price for it.

Asuna didn't know how right she was.

* * *

..

'Kirito-kun. I've came to visit.'

Asuna spoke softly after knocking on the door, before she stepped into the hospital room softly. She didn't expect any visitors, at least, not yet as Kazuto-kun's sister, Suguha-chan, wouldn't be visiting her brother so early in the afternoon.

lzumi Asuna, age seventeen, smiled at the resting body of Kirigaya Kazuto, one of the few that hadn't woken up from their terrifying life-or-death battle in SAO.

Kirito had been labelled a hero by those who had been trapped in the game, someone who had saved all of them, and it had came as a huge and bittersweet blow that he hadn't woken up from the ordeal.

But most of them, Asuna included, knew that if there was someone who wouldn't be bested by such a setback was the 'Black Swordsman of SAO, the strongest, and most feared player of all.

Asuna didn't quite know how she had managed to survive, perhaps it was how Kirito had managed to kill Kayaba Akihiko 10 seconds after she died? Whatever the case, she survived, and Kirito didn't, or hadn't, yes, definitely hadn't.

She recalled how she had cried the first time she had met him, her lover and husband in the hospital room that he was currently confined in after barging into the room.

It was almost enough to break her heart to see the strong, dependable and insanely fit Kirito-kun wasting away while being hooked on a machine, or perhaps it had already did when she laid eyes on him then?

It was there too that Asuna found someone to share her pain with, or perhaps, someone to compete with. She wasn't sure which, but she knew it was perhaps a mixture of the two.

..

That was the day that she met Kirito-kun's sister, Kirigaya Suguha.

It had been an awkward meeting, for Asuna had burst into the room, still in her hospital garments before breaking down beside her bed in tears. She vaguely remembered answering Suguha's questions about who she was, and what was her relationship with Kirito-kun.

Though she couldn't quite remember what she had told Suguha in her panic and worry over Kirito-kun, she did know that she did say something that caused Suguha to pull her away from Kirito, and her parents from gasping in shock.

Of course, that was also the day that Suguha knew that her brother was the hero who had saved everyone else. That proved to be quite a shock for all parties that were involved, Kirito's parents as well as her own. Though for her part, she believed her parents were more shocked that she had announced the two of them to be husband and wife, at least in the game itself.

Asuna remembered spending the night there, despite her condition, and stubbornly and crucially, Suguha did the same as well.

..

She wasn't sure if Suguha was there to keep an eye on her, or was she simply there to stay with her big brother. Either way, Asuna found herself strangely conflicted at knowing that Kirito's younger sister would be so protective of her big brother, or so protective of her big brother from her.

Both made her feel uncomfortable, not in a bad way, but in an awkward way. But then again, since she had only woken up for a few days since the incident, she was too tired to think.

Her parents would have dragged her away back to her own hospital room if not for Asuna literally wrapping her entire body around Kirito-kun's arm. Despite her weakened body, neither they, nor Suguha was able to dislodge her, something she attributed to her own stubbornness as well as her desire to stay with Kirito-kun.

Kirito was the person who had saved her, who had said that he would protect her, even if she had seemingly been the one to protect him instead, the two of them had made the same oath to protect each other the day they had been married together.

It was the next day, when her parents demanded answers from her, did she relate their story to them, as well as Suguha. The events of SAO was supposed to be classified, but since her father owned the company that was running SAO, she had been able to obtain a list of the registered players to track down Kirito-kun.

They might have known from the reports they had gathered that Kirito-kun was the one who had saved everyone, and wrongly assumed that she wanted to meet Kirito to thank him for what he had done for all of them.

However, to Asuna it was more important than that. Kirito-kun was not someone who had saved everyone, he was her lover, and he had saved her from her old life, from the life she had almost given up on two years ago.

So she had told them the truth, how they had met, what they had gone through, what they had done together, how they had fallen in love, how they had protected each other, and how he had been willing to die for her.

The story was of course, kept within the circle that she had confessed to, and even if it meant they might be separated, Asuna wanted her parents to know how she felt, how Kirito-kun felt.

..

Her desperation had worked for she was allowed to stay with Kirito-kun if she wished, but for the two of them to be engaged, that would be another thing altogether. But Asuna was heartened and gratified that her parents didn't outrightly object or deny the two's love.

It was another thing for Suguha though, who had a sour expression as Asuna finished, and she couldn't help but feel a little worried about their relationship.

She had no doubt that Kirito-kun would still love her, but If she didn't get along with Kirito-kun's sister, it would be very tough on him.

Asuna wanted to get along with Suguha, she really did, but it seemed that she had no intention of doing the same.

'It's not Kirito-kun, Onii-chan's name is Kazuto, Kirigaya Kazuto.'

Suguha's voice made Asuna jump a little as she peeped past the curtains blocking her view to see Suguha glaring at her from her customary seat beside Kirito-kun's seat.

'Kirito-kun never asked me to call her that. Kirito-kun is Kirito-kun.'

Asuna wasn't one to pick a fight, but she knew that at least. It would be rude for her to use Kirito-kun's name without him telling her that it's fine.

'Well, Asuna-san, what does Onii-chan call you then?'

'Kirito-kun called me, Asuna.'

'... You told Onii-chan your real name in SAO?'

Suguha raised an eyebrow in surprise while Asuna blushed lightly, looking away and admitting that she had named her character as Asuna.

'... Aren't you the one at fault for naming your character after yourself, Asuna-san? I didn't know people still do that...'

Suguha's words made Asuna blush even harder as she took the seat on the opposite of Kirito's seat.

'A-Anyway, I didn't expect you to be here so early, Suguha-chan.'

Asuna tried to make some small talk as she smiled down fondly at Kirito, her Kirito, still sleeping on his hospital bed. Absentmindedly, she began to run a hand through his hair while wondering just how long his hair had grown.

Her own hair had been trimmed quite constantly thanks to being in a private ward, Kirito-kun hadn't been that fortunate as they could only afford to place him in a normal hospital ward, still at least he was still healthy.

'...'

Asuna looked up to see Suguha staring at her intently, and she realized that she had gone beyond just stroking Kirito-kun's hair, she had started twirling his hair around her finger. Blushing, Asuna cleared her throat even as she tried to untangle Kirito-kun's hair from her finger, and failing terribly as Suguha was raising a skeptical eyebrow at Asuna panicking over that small act.

'Hmph... don't move so much, you'll get Onii-chan's hair even more tangled.'

Finally, Suguha gave an agonising sigh before she leaned forward to help, using her own hands to help Asuna.

'E-Erm, Suguha-chan?'

But like Asuna, she too was fighting a losing battle as for ever strand that she managed to free, another two would get tangled in it's place. Even as the younger girl struggled, Asuna noticed that due to Suguha trying to help, she had leaned over Kirito, and as a result, her rather developed chest was pressing down on Kirito-kun.

Now, Asuna wasn't that concerned over her own looks, she had been one of the few girls in SAO, and perhaps the only one taking an active front-line role in SAO. Was that one she hadn't once been worried about her chances, or jealous? EIther way, seeing the rather attractive Suguha doing that was enough to cause Asuna to get extremely flustered.

'S-Stop it, Suguha-chan! I-I can do it myself!'

Asuna tried to get the younger girl to stop, but alas it was a little too late as Suguha had successfully gotten the two of their hands tangled in Kirito-kun's hair.

'A-Ah...'

Suguha looked sheepish too as she tried to pull back, only for Asuna to sigh as her hands were pulled with her. Eventually they had no choice but to rest both their hands on Kirito-kun's chest in defeat, and to wait for a nurse to come and help them.

But barely a few minutes after this happened, Asuna couldn't help but start to giggle at how ridiculous the situation was.

'Haha... ahaha...'

It wasn't long before Suguha started giggling too, the two girls who loved Kirito/Kazuto with all of their hearts finally agreed with each other over something.

* * *

..

Eventually it was time for Suguha to leave, and for the first time, she smiled a little at Asuna as she dusted herself off.

'Good night, Asuna-san.'

'Mm, good night, Suguha-chan.'

Asuna was happy, for today was the first time that she felt she had made progress in getting Suguha to accept their relationship with Kirito-kun. It was a small step, but a step nonetheless, and Asuna gave Suguha a big smile even as she turned back to look at Kirito-kun.

She wanted to spend an even longer time with him, to read to him, to tell him what happened today, and about the people she had met.

She didn't want to do that with Suguha-chan around of course, but once she was gone, she was going to tell him about how she managed to find all of their friends.

From Klein, the odd and desperate leader that Kirito knew, Agil, the blacksmith and axe-wielder that had been such a kind soul despite his gruff exterior. Her good friend Lisbeth too, and many other **clearers** that were present during that last fight with Healthcliff.

It was such a relief to know that they were all fine, and even if it was hard for them to stomach that Kirito was in such a state, they had all agreed that Kirito-kun wouldn't go down like this. Like her, all of them believed that Kirito was fighting hard to come back as well.

..

'_It isn't over till he's back, Asuna-san.'_

..

Agil had told her that when she visited him in the bar that he owned, causing Asuna to agree.

'We will be holding an offline meet after you wake up, Kirito-kun... So please, wake up soon.'

Asuna whispered to him even as she leaned over to give him a kiss on his lips, to hold it for a few seconds even if he never responded.

'I love you, Kirito-kun.'

She confessed again even as she patiently waited, waited for his return. Even if time itself was running out.

* * *

..

'What do you mean that I'm going to be engaged to to him!'

Asuna snapped at her father in rage after he announced her engagement to Sugo Nobuyuki. It was something that she simply couldn't accept. To think that slimy, lusty, _thing_ would want to even touch her. It made Asuna feel sick inside.

'It's something that your mother and I have decided, Asuna. Please be reasonable. He has asked for your hand in marriage, and considering all the-'

'No, and that's final. I won't accept it, I won't accept him. Not when I'm going to marry Kirito-kun.'

Asuna stubbornly shook her head even as she flicked her hair back to stare at her father. Even if she was still undergoing therapy, and had a little difficulty walking at times, her reflexes had shown itself to be just as good as it was in SAO. Perhaps even better, for when she was focused on something, she would never allow anything else to distract her.

'Asuna, what are you saying? Are you defying your parents? And that boy, Kirigaya-kun wasn't it? He might have saved you, but that was in the ga-'

Asuna screamed at her father when he dared to try and broach that sensitive topic. It was just a _game_?! It was more than a game! It was a game that people died in! It was a game where over 4000 died over two years because of a mad man!

'A game?! A GAME? It wasn't a GAME, father! It was life or death! You should know how many people died because of that _Game!_ It's NOT a game to us, father, we had to _survive_, we had to _fight_, we had to KILL to survive! I've seen many of them jump to kill themselves from the despair, father! If Kirito-kun hadn't saved me from it, if he hadn't helped me so much, or helped EVERYONE so much, we would have ALL died.'

Asuna paused in her screaming as a coughing fit took over, but she couldn't stand it anymore as she struggled to her feet from the hospital bed.

'W-Wait, where are you going, Asuna?'

Her father called out to her weakly, no doubt feeling guilty at what he had said to her daughter. He might have known what the main details of the SAO project, but he had never once considered what her daughter had truly went to. He had believed that it was just, a game, so to speak, and her daughter had remained safe while the others had gone through the _game._

He didn't know that Asuna, the _flash_, had been one of the most important figures of the whole SAO incident, together with her husband, the **Black Swordsman**.

'Out, I need some fresh air, father. We shall never talk about this again, I'm marrying Kirito-kun and it's final.'

Asuna gave her final word even as she left the room, disappointed and angry at her father.

* * *

..

'Kirito-kun, are you-?'

With her disappointment and anger, Asuna had found herself in front of Kirito-kun's hospital room again. With nothing better to do, she pushed opened the door softly before slipping in again. It wasn't exactly after visiting hours, and doing that did indeed make her feel suspicious. But she wanted to check whether Suguha was present before she embarrassed herself again.

What she didn't expect was to hear Sugo Nobuyuki's voice speaking in the room.

'It has been a long time, Kirito-kun. No... Hero of Sword Art Online.'

Why was that slimeball speaking to the unconscious Kirito?

Asuna held her breath even as she tip-toed closer to hear what he was saying. Ordinarily she'll have barged in right now, telling Sugo to get the hell out of here, but today, from her conversation with her father, she felt something was amiss.

'You know, I'm going to get married to Asuna-chan next week, Kirito-kun.'

Asuna felt her temper grow again even as she clenched her fist in anger. A part of her wanted to clock him, another part of her wanted Kirito-kun to wake up to clock _him_ instead.

'I'm sorry that you won't be able to attend the ceremony. Oh wait, you can. I think that I'll stream it for you to see. It must hurt, doesn't it, knowing that Asuna is still alive, but you can't meet her. No, you won't be allowed to see her.'

Asuna felt her breathing stop as she listened to Sugo chuckled to himself in the room.

'Ah, that's right, that's right. You can't hear me here, can't you? But I'll make sure that you do hear what Asuna-chan will say at the altar. She'll make such a wonderful bride... Pity that she won't see your crying face then too. Maybe, I'll take a picture for her? Hahaha!'

Sugo's laughter was almost an afterthought right now. Was the crazy person finally, you know, crazy? Or did he know something about Kirito that she and her father didn't?

Asuna slowly tip-toed away again when she saw Sugo heading towards her direction, and she carefully made her way to the door even as Sugo spoke up again.

'All this is your fault you know? if you hadn't saved Asuna-san from the trap I made, you won't be the one trapped there. Maybe you'll have a chance to save her then... or you could just watch while I violate her in front of you! That'll be great, won't it, Kirito-kun. Ah.. maybe I should do that, if only Asuna-chan is willing to even use a nervegear again. You know, I wouldn't be surprised she'll never use one again. That'll be sad, won't it, Kirito-kun, for she'll never be able to see you again. What's left you anyway...'

Sugo's chuckles ended when he opened the door to be face to face with a very calm, and yet pissed off Asuna. Asuna barely registered that the man could change his facial expression as easily as a chameleon could change color as he looked down kindly at her.

..

'Ah, Asuna-ch-'

'Get lost, Sugo.'

Asuna snapped at him in **irritation** while dismissing him before he could speak further. Asuna did however, notice the grating sound he made with his teeth before he smiled and took his leave, leaving Asuna to close the door, and to drop to the floor in sheer exhilaration at that lead that she had just stumbled upon.

It might be a ploy, it might be a trap, and it could just be Sugo that was out of his mind. But if there was a slight chance that he was alive, that Sugo had something to do with him still not waking up, Asuna was going to do everything in her power to save him.

'K-Kirito-kun...'

He was alive, and he was stuck somewhere she had to access with a nervegear. That much was certain... Whatever Sugo was planning, whatever he had done, Asuna told herself that she would unravel all of it to save Kirito-kun.

After all, she was his wife, and they swore that for better for worse, they would be together.

'Wait for me, Kirito-kun, I'll save you.'

Asuna swore softly to herself even as she caressed Kirito-kun's cheeks softly and tenderly.

* * *

**Author's Notes: If you like it, drop me a review or two~**


	2. Blinded by Love

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 2— Blinded by Love**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta. and welcome to the next installment of Yandere Asuna, -wait, what?**

**Well, it's a running joke between the two of us~**

**That said, I'm currently running negotiations with _Knowledgeseeker66_, who is the author of 'Fairy Dance Alternate', since we share some similar concepts. Negotiations are ongoing, but I'll just like to mention in passing that yep, we do share the common idea of Asuna taking Kirito's role in ALO. This is a sign of respect for one that has published before me, as well as the acknowledgment of what he/she has written so far.**

** Of course, in my defense, I have no idea existed prior to the publication of 'Fairy Dance Alternate' prior to this, and my story is entirely original.  
**

**Thank you to my reviewers who pointed that out to me.**

* * *

..

Even if Asuna knew what she had to do, that was, to save Kirito-kun from the grasp of that madman, and slimeball, she wasn't sure where she should start.

All she knew of the situation was that Sugou probably had Kirito-kun trapped somewhere where he had power over him. Was he blackmailing him to not log-out? That was entirely possible, and even if Asuna felt uneasy that Sugou was probably blackmailing Kirito-kun by using her, somehow, she couldn't help but feel a little happy that it was her who could be the reason for him not waking up.

It was a conflicting feeling of both love, fondness, relief as well as horror, fear and disgust all rolled into one. Asuna also realized that this wasn't the time to be happy about such a horrific fate for her husband, but still.

Still.,, it was kind of romantic in a way.

'W-What am I thinking about?'

Asuna clapped her hands over her burning cheeks as she knelt besides Kirito-kun in his ward. That was not what she should be thinking about right now, she had to focus, his safety was her priority after all.

And besides, this wasn't the first time that Asuna had questioned about her 'love' for Kirito-kun, and whether it was something, well, natural.

..

Asuna hadn't fallen in love before meeting Kirito-kun, so he was her first-love. She was pretty sure that it was the same for Kirito-kun as well, despite all the attention that he received from several female friends that he had. Her best friend, Lisbeth, who was a blacksmith in SAO, and had met Kirito-kun through her introductions, had a crush on him as well.

A crush that Asuna was glad that had been suppressed, or perhaps given up by Lisbeth herself when she had seen her with Kirito-kun. It was something that was left unsaid between the two, and even if Asuna herself didn't want to admit it to Lisbeth, she wasn't sure what she would have done if she hadn't interrupted the two's conversation that one time. Lisbeth had no doubt wanted to confess to Kirito-kun, and although she had no idea at that time, she was panicking over Lisbeth then, subsequently she had been very glad that she had interrupted them then.

Of course, Kirito-kun had to be a gentleman, or being incredibly dense, had tried to comfort Lisbeth as well, not knowing what Lisbeth had wanted to say to him.

Sometimes, Asuna wasn't sure that Kirito-kun was blessed being dense or cursed for it, as she was sure that if she had not been as demanding, as well as obstinate about being with him, would he would have realized, or had started to develop the feelings she had for him?

Their relationship was something that she cherished, and that she was profoundly glad that had happened, but there were times when she wondered if it had happened some other way, if it was not for all the danger that he had gone through because of her, would it have ended up the same way?

He was willing to die for her, and her for him, but looking back at all the things that had happened, it seemed like she had caused nothing but pain for him.

One thing Asuna had to admit was that, until he had opened up to him, Kirito-kun had seemed like a very conflicted being, whose personality didn't always remained constant.

Asuna didn't blame herself for not knowing more about Kirito-kun, it had been a long time since their first meeting till they had met again after all.

..

She could remember, what had happened on their first meeting, the first Boss Fight that they had taken on together in a party.

He had swore to her that he would protect her then, and even if it had probably been said as a reflex, and Asuna really didn't believe him, he had been as good as his word.

The two of them had worked well together too, as if they were made for each other, but he had been the one to sever the contact they had with each other or with anyone else for that matter.

Kirito-kun was the **Black Swordsman**, a Beta and a Beater, and most importantly, a solo player, an extra oddity amongst SAO, for to many people, there were strength in numbers.

Asuna was always in the frontline, and as Kirito-kun had always participated there as well, they 'saw' each other, but had not spoken to each other.

It was like there was forever an invisible line that no one was able to cross, a boundary that Kirito-kun had marked himself to keep his solitude. He was alone and he wanted it this way.

Asuna didn't know what to make of it, but she too was kept busy and occupied with clearing the floors that she couldn't invest the time to know him better, something that she wasn't sure if she regretted even now. For Kirito-kun was not only a very conflicting person, he was also one who carried so many things on his shoulders. The weight of his promises to others, the weight of his own guilt, the weight of the ones that had been lost and the ever crushing guilt of loneliness that was eating away at him.

He was being torn apart by his own demons, demons that taunted him for what he had done, what he had failed to do and his own failures.

Kirito-kun had been a _beta_, and as with many of them, was occupied with gaining strength to survive, to clear the levels, but at the same time, he wanted to save all that he could as he had a very strong sense of justice. It was hypocritical of him, for he had given up on the masses by forging ahead, by not lending his strength to others to help the greater good, and yet he too was the one who gave hope to many through the strength that he had gained from abandoning others.

..

Asuna admitted that till he opened up, till he told her what had happened, she did blame Kirito-kun somewhat for his actions, for not putting in his all when he could obviously use that power to better help others to clear the floors, even if did participate in all the boss battles. It was exactly that frustration that had led Asuna back to Kirito-kun, and for the most part, his contradictory and hypocritical way of life had remained.

He was indeed the strongest Solo player in SAO, the **Black Swordsman**was both hated as well as revered, respected as well as loathed, supported as well as shunned.

The second true meeting between the two of them was after a strategy meeting for the battle to reach the boss room of the Fifty- sixth floor. She had seen spotted him slacking off, napping in the sun by himself before she had approached him, and demanded to know what he was doing.

She had valid reasons for being mad at him, but perhaps it was the contrasting way in which he had behaved that made her want to chew him out. Kirito was the one who had objected to her plan for defeating the boss by using NPC5 as meatshields after all.

The subsequent duel that had ended up in her defeat had stung, but that wasn't part of the reason she had sought him out. She wanted to know more about the conflicted Kirito-kun, how he claimed and defended the weaker players while being one of the strongest, and how he could still enjoy life in Aincrad while possibly being the one who wanted out the most.

Why Kirito-kun would shun away from guilds, from other players, from bonds, and yet strive to defend other players, to help them, and to even speak up to defend NPCs despite opposition from his fellow players?

Kirito-kun did want to help the players, right?

So why was he against the most effective method that would enable them to accomplish their goals?

If he truly wanted to help them, why was he wasting valuable time to just laze around? And yet he would always be there on the front lines, giving his all and risking his own life in the boss battles. Did he love Aincrad, but at the same time hate it? What did he truly feel about the situation?

All that, Asuna had no answers to at that point of time, and that was why she approached him then, out of simple curiosity at the twisted individual that could do so much, did more than he should have done, and yet done so little as well.

..

His own actions, behavior, as well as goals were so conflicting that Asuna couldn't place him. That she couldn't understand him, and she did wanted to know more about him.

She had, in the end, fallen in love with him too, but that was a story for another time. They had fallen in love, and he had changed his way of life to fit her inside it. No, that wasn't right, they had made each other the sole reason for living. That, was something Asuna would never forget and would forever cherish. Even if it meant that she would be pulling his strength away from the others who might have needed or wanted him, even if it might have made him weaker because of her, even if she might have been a burden, even if it meant that their paths would now be in conflict with the rest of the players.

For no longer would they be fighting for everyone, they would be fighting for themselves, and it was something that Kirito-kun had declared without hesitation to Commander Heathcliff himself when they returned to the front lines after their honeymoon together. Remember what he said: "Asuna's safety was his top priority", Asuna still get goosebumps and would even squeal like an insane fan-girl when she remembered how he phrased it to Commander Heathcliff.

They would fight, and die, for each other. Asuna wasn't sure if it was natural, but she realized that even if it wasn't, she didn't want to care. No, she couldn't care, she did not want to care even if it wasn't natural. She had fallen in love with the conflicted Kirito-kun, and even if it meant that the Kirito-kun she had fallen in love in was gone and replaced with the one who could only look at her, she was happier for it.

That was also why she probably knew deep down that it wasn't natural, that her love would probably be odd, perhaps even crazy to others, bordering on obsession, but Asuna didn't care. For if she did care, she wouldn't be prepared to do die for him. It was her first, burning, and unrelenting love that gave her the strength and determination to get this far ahead. For she was weak and she would continue to be weak, if not for Kirito-kun. For that alone, disregarding everything else, she loved him. She will always love him, that was her solemn promise to the world. Even if she might never truly understand Kirito-kun, nor why he felt the same.

They were all right, love could blind one to everything else.

..

Even as Asuna reflected upon herself, she could feel the determination building inside of her. She had to do something, anything at all and just sitting here, reminiscing about the past wasn't going to get her anywhere. Yuki Asuna was the daughter of the CEO of RECTO Progress Inc, and as such was in a position to gather information about the company if she asked her father for assistance. Since Sugou was an employee with RECTO Progress, and they had quite a base in the VRMMORPG market, it was a logical place to start.

However, due to the earlier fallout she had with her father, Asuna wasn't sure if her father would help her without any proof of wrongdoing. Anything that she would try at this point would simply be viewed as a way to get out of the arranged marriage, and to be honest, Asuna felt that if she could get them to call off the engagement due to this incident, she would be killing two birds with one stone. A complete rout, if you could call it. It had been quite promising how her father had accepted Kirito-kun at the start but had probably been persuaded against it by her mother.

It was also sad for her to admit, but she knew next to nothing about the company, or how she would be able to find a way to dig up any information by herself. Well, there were a few people she did recognize, but it would mean asking for personal favors. That would be unpleasant indeed.

Even if she had recorded the conversation earlier, it was only circumstantial, and seeing that Asuna had everything to gain, and nothing to lose from that conversation, Asuna was sure that it would be difficult to persuade her father of any wrong doings on Sugou's part.

So she had to approach this from another angle, to find a way to present her findings so that it could be proven without reasonable doubt. Asuna was born in a very privileged environment after all and had the best schooling available since a young age, even if she was nothing but a glass vase and political vessel to others. People always tried to get close to her to gain access to the influence and power that her status gave her. Even if her father stepped down as CEO, he would still wielded a great amount of influence, no doubt that lecher wanted that, probably her body as well.

Just thinking about it made Asuna want to clock him badly but that would not help her right now. Asuna also knew that it wasn't impossible, if she was able to make a substitute for Soy Sauce, and Mayonnaise within SAO by analysing, and studying how the mechanics in-game worked for generating taste, she would be able to find a way to locate Kirito-kun. Especially because it was for Kirito-kun. That much, Asuna was aware of. Regardless of the price she would have to pay.

* * *

..

Asuna gave a friendly wave to the barkeeper of Dicey Café, a bar/Café that was run by the individual Andrew Gilbert Mills. But to Asuna, he was Agil, a friend of hers and Kiritos in Sword Art Online.

Despite being quite intimidating due to his stature and serious expression, Agil was a very kind-hearted individual who had helped many of his fellow players in SAO. That, and he was also one of the few people that Kirito called on as a friend. Asuna hadn't been sure what to feel about him at the start, but had gradually warmed up to him, even if she wasn't a regular at his shop in SAO, preferring to patronize Lisbeth's shop. He was also one of the few players who were foreign but despite all the differences, they still got along. It had been become a tradition for the players of SAO to gather at the 'Dicey Café' once in a while when they were all mostly recovered, but this was their first official gathering together.

'Good afternoon, Agil-san.'

'Ah, good afternoon, Asuna-san.'

It was also a sign of respect for him, as well as the players of SAO that they referred to each other with their in-game names. Sword Art Online was not a game, it was more than that, it was something that all of them hated and at the same time accepted at the same time.

People died in that game, but at that same time people lived in it. It was two years of horror, of fear, of despair, of regret, but at the same time it was two years of growth, of experience, of friendship and of love.

It was something that couldn't be replaced, something that couldn't be denied, something that was horrible, terrifying, painful, cruel, but was definitely not meaningless.

It was not meaningless and it would be disrespectful for those who had died if they were told to forget what had happened. To those who had survived, to those who had given up all so much to it, just to return to the life they had lost, a life that was now so priceless to them when it was taken from them, it would be like a slap to the face.

For Asuna, she could rightly say that she was now living her life to the fullest, cherishing it, as well as loving it due to her time in SAO.

Those two years were _not_meaningless, it was a time where lives had been changed, would forever be changed, and for the survivors, would always influence, would always remind them of what each and everyone have gave up to reach this far.

They would remember, for only they knew, for only they could relate to it, for unless one lived through it, no one could understand what they felt and what they experienced.

In the end, they couldn't deny that SAO had touched their lives, had changed it, for it had. To deny it would be to reject what so many of them had valiantly fought for in the two years and to those whose lives were lost in the struggle.

Whether it was for their bravery or for their foolishness, their weakness or just being plain unlucky, SAO was surely something that could never be replaced in their hearts, for good or for worse.

..

'Thank you for agreeing to host us on such a short notice, Agil-san. I am very thankful for your assistance.'

'Don't mention it, even if I never told him that directly, but we players should stick to each other.'

Agil echoed his own sentiment even as Asuna smiled in agreement.

That's right, even if everything has ended, their bonds with each other certainly hadn't.

'Thank you once again, Agil-san, has everyone arrived yet?'

Asuna turned to look around at the Café, and was surprised to see that the Café itself was packed full of people, this was a much bigger crowd than she had invited. Some of them who she recognized, and some of them who she didn't, but they were no doubt players.

'Someone had the bright idea of spreading the word.'

Agil gave an embarrassed cough even as Klein gave a shrug from where he was resting his head on the table.

'Oi, I thought that the more help we have, the better right? Geez...'

Klein, or Tsuboi Ryotaro was another of Kirito's friends in SAO. He was also the guild leader of an established group of cleaners who helped out in the front line as well. As Asuna was the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, she had frequent dealings with Klein as well.

Klein was a friendly person by nature, and his guild was one of the few who actively helped out the middle-leveled players as well, despite being in the front-line. As a result, his guild was respected in SAO, and his connections were wide and diverse as well.

Asuna just didn't expect him to be a white-collar employee in real life.

'Good afternoon to you too, Klein-san. Thank you for taking time off to attend today's gathering.'

'No sweat Asuna-san, if its for Kirito, I'm sure that most of the guys who knew would come... but I sure didn't expect the girls to come as well. Oh wait, was that the other way around?'

Klein grinned teasingly as he jerked his thumbs towards a small group of girls who were gathered at one corner of the Café as well. Asuna for her part, felt a little upset at what Klein was insinuating, but shrugged it off easily. It was silly getting jealous, she knew of Kirito-kun's feelings towards her, so there's no reason for it.

..

'Ah, its Asuna! Yo! Asuna!'

Asuna gave her best friend, Lisbeth a big smile and a hug as her friend glomped her from the get-go when she spotted her.

Lisbeth or Shinozaki Rika, had been her best friend in SAO, and that sentiment had carried over after they met in real life. They had kept in contact and was one of the individuals who had helped spread the word about this meeting.

'Lis, it's good to see you again, thank you for helping out.'

Asuna gave her friend a sincere smile even as she blushed when Lisbeth nudged her teasingly with her elbow.

'Ah, I have to support the lovey-dovey newly weds don't I? Don't worry Asuna, I'll help out as much as I can. But it wouldn't hurt for your husband to treat us to a shopping trip when we're done, right?'

Lisbeth winked even as she pulled Asuna into the middle of the Café. The other players, most of them whom recognized her as the Flash as well as the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, gave her both meaningful and respectful nods while Asuna cleared her throat to start the meeting proper.

'Everyone, thank you for gathering here today on such a short notice.'

Asuna felt everyone's gaze on her, but with the experience she had as the Vice-commander, she shrugged the feeling of butterflies in her stomach off as she looked around, getting the attention of everyone.

'I called this meeting as I believe that I have found the reason, as well as location of the ones who had not woken up from the SAO incident.'

Asuna's words made grim smiles appear on many of the player's faces. When Kirito-kun had cleared the game, it was supposed to log-out all the players that had survived. But instead, around 300 of those who had survived hadn't woken up.

Kirito-kun was one of them, and it was a mystery that all of them wanted to be solved and as quickly as possible. This nightmare wasn't over yet, like Agil-san had said, it wasn't over till everyone was saved.

'I've called for this meeting to ask for everyone's help in locating them. Just recently I stumbled upon a lead, I might be wrong, and it might not yield anything, but I would like to ask for everyone's help in order to find them. So please, could all of you lend me your strength?'

Asuna bowed to the group of players, all of them who were silent till Klein started clapping, followed by Lisbeth, and then Agil, and then everyone else.

..

'That's why we came here for, Asuna-san. You're the vice-commander after all, you shouldn't be shy in asking for help like this.'

Agil remarked even as he continued to clean glasses on his bar-top, causing Asuna to narrow her eyes slightly before she sighed.

'I'm... not the vice-commander here, Agil-san. We're looking for a needle in a haystack, there's just no way of confirming my suspicions... and it's nothing but a rumor... even so, even despite all that, would all of you be willing to help me?'

Asuna asked again, and this time she saw everyone nod their heads in agreement.

'Show us what you got, Asuna-sanl We'll get cracking on it immediately!'

Klein waved his hand sloppily in the air and as if it was a signal to everyone else, all of them waited patiently for Asuna to start the meeting proper.

..

It was also a nostalgic feeling, like she was the Vice-Commander all over again, discussing the plan for taking down a boss even as they all gathered around her, even as Agil pushed a whiteboard for her to display her findings.

'It is my suspicion that the remaining players of SAO were all trapped and confined here.'

All of the players of SAO knew about Nervegears, as well as VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Mass Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game), what one doesn't know was the extent and spread of uses for the Nervegears. Besides playing games, they could also be used for rehabilitation and other uses, but due to the SAO incident, the market for Nervegears had their strong growth and expansion plans slashed, and their market share had reduced over the past two years.

The entire VRMMORPG market had dwindled significantly since two years ago, and it hadn't came as much of a shock for Asuna to find out that RECTO Progress has purchased, and was running the servers of SAO.

Asuna suspected that the purchase of SAO, Argus, who had to file for bankruptcy due to the excessive amount of damages it had to pay out, was due to her father's personal vested interest in her safety. Whatever the case, it had also given Sugou the opportunity to mess around with SAO as well.

So, at least in theory, it made sense that Sugou would have been able to have access to all of SAO's data, and potentially had the chance to do some fiddling with it.

Asuna was a little uncertain as to how the players would react to how she had gotten that lead, but when she explained to them that she had overheard of one the leaders of the team who watched over and maintained the SAO servers talking about trapping people, and using references to Nervegears, they had agreed that it was probably too much of a coincidence.

The difficulty however, was that they had absolutely nothing to go on besides the fact that RECTO Progress had a subsidiary that were running other VRMMORPGs. Due to the SAO servers still being kept online, partly due to the fear that the 300 or so players were still stuck in SAO, and how no one was willing to take the risk to log in again to find out if that was true, no one was quite sure whether those players were stuck in SAO, or were just unconscious due to other reasons. It was better to play safe however, and thus SAO servers were still left online.

Even Asuna, who would do anything for Kirito-kun, was not going to risk logging into SAO again without strong, definite proof that he was there. And even if he was, what could she do once she was there anyway? Did they really have to defeat the level 100 boss to log-out again? Even if she was willing to do that for him, with all those unknown variables, she couldn't truly justify trying that unless she had absolute proof that she could do something to help there. She wasn't afraid, far from it, if she was sure, she'll be there in a heartbeat.

But since she wasn't, she couldn't take the chance that she was wrong and she would have risked the life that Kirito-kun gave her for nothing.

..

But back to the topic, besides maintaining SAO's server, RECTO Progress Inc was running another large VRMMORPG as well, and it could be within that particular VRMMORPG, that Kirito-kun and the rest were trapped in.

It was a long shot, and like Asuna said, it was probably something that was hard or impossible to prove, but it was still a chance, a possibility that existed.

'So you're saying that it's possible that the guys are trapped in that game like we were in SAO?'

Agil spoke thoughtfully as Asuna finished, she had done quite a bit of research on the mentioned, the only one that RECTO Progress was running by themselves, and she wasn't sure if she had found something or had drawn a blank.

'Yes, if it is true that the employees of RECTO Progress were the one responsible for the players not waking up, they could have covered their tracks when transferring the player's data from SAO to the other game. But it would also be hard for them to do so by themselves, the servers are constantly monitored within RECTO Progress itself due to the SAO incident. It would be hard for them to do so without father or someone else knowing about it. But it is entirely possible, especially if it was one of the lead programmers or the lead engineer doing this.'

Asuna nodded her head even as Agil rubbed his chin contemplatively.

'I, would like to make my position here clear. I am the daughter of the CEO of RECTO Progress... and, to be absolutely honest, I have absolutely no proof of any wrongdoing, and I could not determine what exactly do they wish to accomplish from this... however...'

Asuna announced to all of them, causing many of them to murmur and mumble amongst themselves as Asuna decided to show her hand.

'It might seem that I'm crazy, and it might be that I'm totally wrong... and it might seem that I have a grudge against RECTO Progress, or at least someone in the organisation. But all I wish to do, is to save all of our fellow players, those who were trapped with us, those who fought with us... and the one who saved us. I'm willing to put my reputation on the line, my ties with my family on the line for them. I... I understand the risks that could be involved if they found out what we are doing, or what we are insinuating, but... I cannot stand still and do nothing about this. If there's a chance, a slight chance, even if it's one in a million... I would want to take that risk, because I have someone that I wish to save. So...'

Asuna closed her eyes, and bowed to them again.

..

'Please, could I borrow all of your strength for my selfish request, I need to know more, I... I want to save them, but to do that, we must find them. They must be somewhere in there, where... they might know that if they died in- game, they would die... but the other players might not believe or know about that fact...'

Asuna trailed off even as everyone paled. If someone died in SAO, they died in real-life as well. For many VRMMORPG, heck, in any MMORPG, dying would result in people respawning with a death penalty, but for SAO, it was different. Players might not even realize the implications and killed people by accident without knowing.

'Well, I'm in for sure.'

Klein's voice was the first to reply, raising a hand as he grinned at Asuna.

'Time for me to pull Kirito's ass out of the fire for once. That kid won't know he's on fire until he gets someone else caught in it.'

Klein's comment made Lisbeth giggled but it was someone else who responded after Klein.

'I guess we adults have to be responsible for you kids too, you shouldn't be getting involved with such dangerous things without some supervision.'

Agil sighed as he smiled as well, Lisbeth was next, going up to squeeze her hand as she pledged her support as well. This was followed by the rest who nodded in approval.

Like Asuna had thought before, they were all in the same boat, something that was echoed and shown today.

'Thank you, thank you... everyone.'

* * *

**Author's Notes: If you like the story, drop a review! Or just comment on whether Asuna seems like a yandere at this early stage, that would be nice too.  
**


	3. A Lead

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 3— A Lead**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you ****_bowpurity _****for the beta!**

* * *

..

'Asuna-san, look at this!'

Asuna hadn't believed that the meeting would have gone on so well, or that she would have so many people from so many different parts of the world, of different profession, and expertise helping her out in her quest. She wasn't alone after all, even if her reasons for doing so was a little selfish, it wasn't just Kirito-kun that they had to save, it's the rest of the players as well.

After Asuna's explanation, the gathered group of players had quickly gathered themselves to groups that could help out. The programmers, or those with background in information-technology, had all gathered to try and analyse a sample of the source code that Asuna had managed to obtain from an employee due to her connection. Another group had been tasked with searching the many websites, and forums for information about the VRMMORPG, AIfheim Online or ALO, to correlate with what they already knew of SAO. This was to familiarize themselves with the game, as well as the mechanics in the event they had to actually go in to save them.

Another group of them had started to try and sift through either their own contacts, or through forums, posts to look for any oddities within those games themselves to look for clues.

There were a few individuals who simply helped by giving moral support, or by voicing suggestions to those groups. Asuna was one of them, only she was constantly being questioned by the first group on how RECTO Progress was monitoring and maintaining ALO itself. Apparently it would form a bigger picture on how the VRMMORPGs were developed, and if they could piece together the history, they could then see whether it was possible for Asuna's theory to hold.

..

'_In theory, it is possible, but if that was the case, it would also be possible for those involved in this to transfer our own player data during the SAO incident itself, right?'_

..

That was something that had been debated about at the start, but it had been abandoned in favor of just trying to locate the players. The reason wasn't important at this point, it was the where and not the how it was done. Besides, Agil had raised the issue of how the servers of SAO would probably have been monitored close during the whole process anyway.

So when someone excitedly called out to all of them about an interesting screen capture available in a trivial trivia website about AIfheim Online. Asuna approached him with a mixture of trepidation as well as anticipation, the entire afternoon had been filled with false leads, discouraging news and with nothing gained so far.

'T-This is-'

There was no mistaking it, dual swords, dressed in an all black outfit, and looking very intimidating as he singlehandedly took on an entire legion of monsters? That was no doubt in her mind that it was Kirito-kun. It was too much of a coincidence if it wasn't him, he had the exact same pose when he drew a sword after all, and even if he did look different, Asuna wanted to believe it was him.

'Woah, that's kinda scary and odd, when did Kirito had elf ears anyway?'

Klein commented even as the player who had stumbled upon it explained that this screenshot of ALO was taken when one of the players had exploited a glitch to enter a hidden dungeon within the game itself.

'The monsters there were horribly over levelled, but he was able to take this screenshot of someone inside the hidden dungeon as well. And this is what he saw inside the dungeon.'

Even if it didn't really look identical to Kirito-kun, just having something like that was enough to give Asuna hope.

'R-Right, let's focus on that hidden dungeon then, mine if we take a look at the source code again, Asuna-san?'

One of the programmers gave her a smile even as they headed back to the corner they had monopolized. Asuna was sure that she might get into trouble for trying to look deeper into the source code like this, but at this point, she really didn't care.

Not when it could be where Kirito-kun was!

* * *

..

'What are you doing, Asuna, defying your father like that last night.'

Asuna had to fight to keep her temper from flaring again at being reminded of what happened last night; where her father had broached everything that was important about Sword Art Online by himself. Was her mother, Yuki Kyouko going to do the same?

'Mother, Sword Art Online is _not_ a game; it's something more than that. I can't believe father would say that to me.'

Asuna answered evenly as she made her way upstairs to her room. She had a lead, it was a slim one, but it was definitely somewhere closer than she was a day ago. Now she would just have to act upon it right now.

'No, I was referring to why did you not accept that you are going to get engaged to Nobuyuki-san. It is something that your father and I had agreed on after all.'

Asuna could only stare at her mother even as she felt a little faint. As she clutched on to the railings of the stair for support, her mother continued with a small smile on her face.

'He is a reputable man, Asuna, and with his research as well as management skills, would be able to take care of you for life. Why would you reject someone like that, Asuna? You would probably never get someone else with as good a resume as Nobyuki-san. You should be honored that he was so eager in having you as his wife.'

Her mother smiled warmly at her, a little eagerly too, no doubt trying to persuade her to accept, or expecting Asuna to agree with her. But all it did was to make Asuna feel even sicker as she felt a little light headed. Her relationship with her mother had been a pretty normal one, all things considered, if not for her always reminding Asuna on her hardship in life, of how she wanted the best for Asuna.

Her mother had always been one who tried to impress on her about their standing in life, that they were of a higher 'status', than the rest. It was a very out-dated concept, but one that Asuna had continued to accept in the past. Perhaps it was partly due to her own compliance, belief, and her surroundings moulding her to accept it, or perhaps it was how her mother had always looked more than a little sad about what she had been through. Asuna had believed her mother, and who wouldn't believe their parents, and had agreed with her. If her mother's experience was so traumatic, she wouldn't want to experience the same as well.

However, after her experience in Sword Art Online, her perspective had changed, not to mention her own personality as well. She was stronger now, definitely more stubborn, and in love. With all that, it wasn't surprising that she sounded more than a little rebellious.

'I refuse to be a trophy wife, mother.'

Asuna replied bluntly even as her mother's eyes widened in shock. Even since she had waken up, Kyouko had known that Asuna had changed. Whether for the best, she wasn't sure, as the obedient and compliant Asuna was gone, the Asuna that she had helped guide down the right path was now heading straight down the one that she did not want her to have. As a mother, there's nothing that hurts more in seeing one's daughter suffer, or go down a very hard path in life. She wanted Asuna to be happy, and if she didn't follow what she had planned for her, it was just not going to happen. Instead, the person that had awakened after the two years, was a stubborn young lady who did not even find fit to listen to her parent's advise. It was enough to cause any mother to despair.

'Now Asuna...'

Even as she tried to continue without really berating Asuna by keeping her temper in check, her daughter continued on wearily while glaring a little at her.

'Even if it wasn't just that, I would never accept Sugou, he would never treat me well, mother. He doesn't want me, who I am, but he wants Yuki Asuna, daughter of the CEO of RECTO Progress.'

Asuna replied bluntly even as she pressed her other hand onto her chest, imploring her mother to listen to her.

'Even if you are fine with it mother, I'm not. I'm myself, I already love someone else. I don't care about what plans that Sugou has for me, or what plans you've made for me mother. It might be good, and it might be bad... but I just can't accept being forced into something that I hadn't agreed to, mother. I'm... your daughter, and I know I won't be happy about this... I can't accept this, please... if you really love me... why must you force this onto me?'

Asuna asked softly, even as her mother continued staring at her in silence. Asuna loved her mother, who wouldn't, but if her mother was merely using her as a tool, or was being so controlling of her, even in this age and time, she wouldn't know what to say, or what to believe in any more. She would have thought that her parents would want her to be happy, that much she had ascertained when her father had given her his blessings to be with Kirito-kun if she so wished, but if her mother did not feel the same?

But as the awkward silence dragged on, Asuna shook her head and excused herself.

'I'll be in my room, mother. I... don't want to be disturbed tonight, mother.'

Asuna smiled sadly at her even as she started climbing up the stairs again. There was something that she could do, at the moment, even if it was extremely dangerous, and that it would open up new wounds.

But most importantly, it was something that might be her first solid step in saving Kirito-kun.

If Sugou was right, there was just less than one week left... and to think that the person who could help her, was just one step away from her all this time.

* * *

..

'_Well, at least we know that's possible.'_

_Agil commented as the group of programmers told them of their findings, that the source code for ALO was identical to SAO in it's very core._

'_The base of the entire game itself runs on the some engine, the same source code, and they might even had simply copied it whole sale, modifying how the world looked and some of the mechanics within it.'_

'_We know that ALO has magic, and SAO didn't, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be implemented after ALO was created.'_

_One of the programmers quipped even as the others agreed that the limitations for searching only in games without the implementation of magic could be overthrown._

'_Even if the mechanics, as well as the concept and look of the game are different, if they ran on the same engine and source code, they are entirely compatible. I wouldn't be surprised if it feels the same inside ALO and in SAO, since they ran off the same modifiers as well as recording, and sensing devices.'_

_Asuna nodded in understanding as it became clear that ALO had the highest chance that the players could possibly be trapped in, with the screen capture of Kirito-kun within it, the chances were greatly increased as well._

'_What ore we going to do now? Are we going to tell ALO about this? We don't have any proof after all...Well we could hack the system to access the player logs to see if anyone had been logged on since we were logged out of SAO.'_

_One of the programmers suggested, causing some of the group to nod their heads till Agil vetoed that idea._

'_It would be best to use that as a last resort, the last thing we need is to spook the people who are doing this. They have full control of the game, and the players if we are right. That means the guys are their hostages.'_

_Agil grimaced even as the crowd fell silent in agreement, without actual proof, it would be hard for anyone to intervene without risking the ire of the ones responsible. Even if Asuna knew one of them, the others might retaliate, and that was the last thing they could do._

'_I guess for now all we can do is to keep researching on ALO, perhaps if we had access to more information...'_

_The group of programmers looked at Asuna hopefully but was disappointed to say that it would be difficult to ask for any more._

'_I wouldn't want them to be suspicious as well.'_

_Asuna explained sadly, and the room was silent again till a young girl spoke up._

'_Then, we could try and visit that place that we saw in the screen capture right? If it's really Kirito-san, he can tell us what is going on, right?'_

_That idea drew merit and it made the entire room abuzz with activity at that simple solution. Sadly, it wasn't that easy, as always._

'_ALO is quite popular.., it'll be hard to find a copy that easily now. Well, I can probably see us getting a few copies... but for so many of us...'_

_One of the more established garners commented even as the rest commented that the bug that they trivia website exploited was patched up, and that it took quite a high level for them to actually even navigate the dungeon. '_

_We can try to work together to level up... but, not everyone would want to come with us, right?'_

_Some of the players swallowed nervously and Asuna knew why. Even if it wasn't the Nervegear's fault, they were the devices that trapped them for two years after all. And it wasn't a stretch to imagine that some of the players would have developed a phobia for it._

_Asuna broke the silence by saying that they have done more than enough for her._

'_It wouldn't be fair for me to ask anyone of you to take that risk to look for them... I'll try to do some investigation of my own too.'_

_Asuna gave them a reassuring smile before some of them protested as well. One of them was Klein, who said that there was no way he was sitting this one out._

..

'_You'll have to order me to stop me from helping, Vice-commanderl'_

_His remark made the room chuckle even as Asuna blushed._

'_You'll need a reliable blacksmith yes? Anyway, Kirito-kun totally stole the flourent that I mode for you. So you'll need all the help you can get.'_

_Lisbeth gushed even as she winked at her friend. To her surprise, the younger girl who hod raised that suggestion said that she'll help out too._

'_I... I was helped by Kirito-san, so please, let me help as well, Asuna-san.'_

_As the room started to descend in chaos again, a voice of reason cleared his throat and said that it was probably a bad idea to involve all of them right now._

'_If the guys are right.'_

_Agil gestured to the group of programmers, who looked confused, even as he continued._

'_The ones behind this would also be monitoring the players who are inside the game, that means that they could monitor anyone who was playing as well.'_

_Agil's words mode sense and the programmers nodded their head in agreement, saying that it's more than possible that they would have GM powers inside the game._

'_It'll be suspicious if such a huge number of us played at the same time... and it would be hard for all of us to get a copy at the same time anyway. And seeing so many SAO players suddenly log in... might make them suspect something was up.'_

'_So you're suggesting that only few of us should try to locate them in-game first?'_

_One of the players asked, and Agil nodded his head even as the rest of the groups protested at being left out._

'_Please, we shouldn't argue amongst ourselves.'_

_It was Asuna who spoke up again, this time in a more authoritative manner while still being apologetic._

'_Agil-san makes sense... but that doesn't mean that all of us can't do our part. It's difficult to coordinate a huge party, and since we are all new to the game, I think.., that it'll be best if we split up into groups within ALO itself.'_

_Asuna suggested to everyone, and even if it was embarrassing to be treated as the vice-commander again, judging from the way everyone calmed down, it was also a relief._

'_I... I have to find Kirito-kun soon.'_

_Asuna confessed even as the rest of the room looked confused. Asuna wasn't sure whether Sugou 's words were truly the truth, or just a ruse, but either way she wasn't sure why Sugou would give himself away that easily anyway, but she had to be cautious, and not to be lured into a trap._

_'There is a chance that... by next week, something might change.'_

_After all, what did he mean by the two of them getting engaged by next week? He would no doubt be planning something, and that itself was dangerous. But the only thing that Asuna could do now was to wait for Sugou to place his first move._

_It was frustrating yes, but she had nary a choice in the matter._

'_So, I'll need all of your help in helping to find him-I mean, all of them. If you hove any friends who played ALO, please try to team up with them in the mean time. For now, I'll try to find things out from father as well. Let us all keep in touch, and when we do have the evidence we need, or when we do need to rescue all of them, we'll do it together.'_

_Asuna promised all of them, making the room settle down again for a bit. She was sure that regardless of what they were all going to meet, they would meet it together. For they were all in the same boat, they all went through the similar experiences._

'_It'll be a piece of cake.'_

_Klein commented even as Asuna looked at him in surprise. Agil agreed for he gruffly replied as well._

'_A game that we can die in is too easy for us, isn't it, Asuna of the Flash.'_

_Asuno had the grace to look embarrassed as everyone nodded in agreement._

* * *

..

With that tiny bit of good news, and a huge lead, Asuna hurried over to visit Kirito-kun after the meeting. The group had wanted to have dinner together, but since Agil-san had a business to do, they had went their separate ways. Lisbeth would have came with her, so did the younger girl, which had introduced herself as Silica, or Ayano Keiko, but the two of them had appointments to attend to.

Of course, they had practically threatened Asuna to tell them where Kirito-kun's ward was at, but considering what they did earlier, Asuna gave that information readily.

It hadn't been that easy to find Kirito-kun 's ward when she had woken up, but she had strong-armed her parents into helping her to search for Kirito-kun's ward, literally so as she had demonstrated first hand how desperate she was to find him. It had taken them three nurses, and doctor helping to get Asuna strapped into bed. It was also the time that her parents knew of how Asuna had changed.

Gone was the weak and complaint girl, and it was replaced with the 'warrior' who had spent two years in a life-or-death challenge. It wasn't just that she was impossibly stubborn, but she had her way with words as well. Despite being constrained and confined to her bed, not to mention still very weak due to the toll the two years had done to her body, Asuna had managed to persuade her father to locate where and who Kirito-kun was.

The trade off was that, due to her odd behavior as well as personality compared to how she was before, Asuna was quickly referred to a psychologist after she was finally pried away from Kirito-kun by the nurses and doctors.

Perhaps it was how she had clung on to Kirito-kun so desperately that had set off alarm bells for them, that Yuki Asuna wasn't really in the most state of mind right now.

Unfortunately for her parents, Asuna, and most of the Sword Art Online Players who had awakened, were perfectly normal, and considering the amount of stress they were forced to endure, they actually were more stable than all the psychiatrists as well as doctors had thought they would be. Asuna for one, was found to be mentally stable and of sound mind, much to the confusion of her family.

Like most of the players in the front lines, Asuna had found that although their allegations were baseless, they could more or less understand their fear, as well as their uncertainty of the Sword Art Online players.

There were very few reports of what had happened in SAO, partly due to how the government and the investigation units desire to keep details classified, it wouldn't be a surprise to them if many of the players hadn't just gone insane or at least, be socially awkward or would have retreated into themselves after such a long period of isolation.

To see the players actively interacting with each other despite their testimonies or mentioning of deeds like killing monsters, player-killing, suicides, lost comrades and etc was unnerving indeed.

There were a few exceptions, like individuals from the _Laughing Coffin_ or _Titan's Hand_, but those were players who had totally abandoned their own ethical codes. Asuna had heard that at least the _Titan's Hand_ Guild had broken down after being confronted with the truth of what they had done.

She had serious doubts that the members of _Laughing Coffin_ would have done that, she just hoped that they would forever stay in jail, where they belonged.

Asuna wasn't sure of how she should acknowledge or view the apparent drastic change in personality that her parents wasn't quite sure about. But it was how she was like now, and even if it had taken two years to build her confidence, her strength, as well as her determination and stubbornness, Asuna felt like this was her real her. The old her, was like a dream. She was right then, she had acknowledged it then, but had never voiced it out.

Besides being just a political glass vase, and trophy, Asuna felt that her personality was like a glass vase as well. Easily broken, easily shifted, and admired by others and not by herself. She didn't like that, she didn't want to be weak, she had felt that once, when facing the monster, Gleameyes, and watching Kirito-kun almost die from defending her. She didn't want to be a burden to Kirito-kun, to herself, or to anyone else at all. She didn't want to be a glass-vase that broke easily, and was so easily misplaced due to how she was.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Somehow, 's formatting got weird suddenly. Anyway, if you have been keeping track. I've published another SAO Story, it's titled: 'Shields and Swords' Do support it if you like my work!**


	4. The Tribulations of Youth

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 4— The Tribulations of Youth**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: An earlier fix for you guys. Thank you ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

**And do support '****_Shields and Swords' _****as well!**

* * *

..

_It was hard for Asuna to hide her excitement at what had happened during her gathering of her fellow SAO players. The group that had gathered mostly comprised of the front-line clearers a good portion of them coming from the same team that had fought in the 75__th__Boss battles. But there were many who were either her friends, part of her guild or were associates of Klein, Agil and even Lisbeth._

_The group, which numbered around 30 at most, were all willing to help her, similar to how in SAO, people would gather together to challenge the bosses of each level or perhaps akin to the small levelling parties that were formed for all of them to grow stronger._

_Asuna was happy to know that it wasn't just her who still felt that their camaraderie as well as friendship and bonds would still exist beyond SAO itself._

_Perhaps it wasn't too much to expect that things would develop even further as well. For instance, during their meeting, Asuna had met with Yulier as well as Thinker, two individuals that she and Kirito had helped in SAO itself._

_Thinker was the Guild leader of the Aincrad Liberation Force, the largest guild in SAO, whose goals was to maintain order within the players through the dispersal and spread of information to all players equally without any profit._

_It was a noble goal that was thwarted as well as threatened due to the size of the Army and the rise of several influential members who tried to abuse their status for their own rights, while alienating and displacing the former leaders in terms of influence as well as with their strength._

_However, due to a disastrous raid by the sub-factions, the others imprisoned Thinker in a very high levelled dungeon in an attempt to retain power within the guild._

_Yulier, the second-in-command for the Army (Aincrad Liberation Force), had begged Kirito and Asuna to help them rescue Thinker. With their help, the two of them were saved, and subsequently saved from the Death Game by Kirito clearing the game. Even within the game, Asuna had known that Yulier had strong feelings for Thinker, it was especially obvious when Yulier had begged them for their help till they had agreed, not that it was very hard for them not to agree to help._

_But she was very heartened and glad to see that the two of them were getting engaged for real in the real world. The two of them had worked things out on their side and had apparently planned to invite Asuna and Kirito to their solemnisation when she had contacted them._

_They were very saddened by what had happened to Kirito, but had, like the rest of the SAO players gathered today, pledged their support for her cause. Yulier had even pulled Asuna to the side to cheer her up as well, saying that Thinker might even mobilize some of his former guild mates to help as well._

_All of this brought to mind the topic that had been discussed in the meeting as well, one which had highlighted Asuna's own recklessness and lack of planning when calling this meeting._

..

_'If Asuna is right, then we are dealing with very dangerous individuals.'_

_Agil spoke out loud even as he finally placed his wiping cloth down to look at everyone that was gathered in the café. He wasn't the oldest individual in the room, Thinker was probably equal to Agil in age himself, but since he was the tavern owner, as well as how he carried himself, Agil had no problem actually looking and acting the part of a leader to the group gathered here today._

_'They are willing to imprison over three hundred individuals by themselves, and since we do not know their motives as well as motivations for why they did that, we can also assume that whatever they were trying to accomplish would reap significant rewards that would be more than adequate to cover the risks of being exposed in their crimes. That, and they could simply be confident enough that they would never get caught at all.'_

_'That's actually not too surprising. Kayaba Akihiko was able to keep all of us trapped within the game for two years. The 'full dive' technology is still quite new, and there are only a few individuals that could actually help with the case. This shows that the tinkering of Kayaba Akihiko was certainly above the levels of law enforcement to handle. I assume that all of you have been interviewed by the special investigation team regarding the events of Sword Art Online? The investigation force is no doubt still monitoring the situation, and if even they, who had been tasked to try and save all of us, had been fooled, it's hard for us to prove otherwise.'_

_Thinker remarked as well even as he stood up with a grim smile. Their words caused many in the crowd to mumble to each other, some showing signs of fear, other showing disappointment. Most of them was showing uncertainty, and it made Asuna feel a little conflicted inside as well._

_'But that doesn't mean that we can't try.'_

_Asuna replied slowly at first, before she gave Thinker and Agil a confident smile as well._

_'If we give up before even trying, I know that I'll regret it. I have to find him, to find Kirito-kun. And even if it's dangerous, I don't care. I've lived through a life-and-death game in Aincrad... if they think that they'll be able to intimidate me in the shadows, they have another thing coming.'_

_Asuna swung her hand in front of her aggressively even as Klein's rallied after her as well._

_'Only cowards hide in the darkness... Agil might be right, that the people there are dangerous, and they probably know what they are doing, but that gives them no reason to continue doing this to our friends, to our fellow players! If we don't take action, who will? I don't think we can go to the officers anyway, for all we know, they themselves could have been bought over. That always happen in movies.'_

_Klein recited with a reckless grin even as Agil muttered about this not being a game, which caused Asuna's temper to rise again before she forced it down. Agil didn't mean what he said, no, that wasn't right, she knew what he wanted to say._

_'Agil-san is right, this is not a game... and that means, that I can't just let it go on like this. I know it's dangerous, it might be wrong, but I said so earlier... and I will repeat what I said before.'_

_Asuna closed her eyes momentarily before opening them again, this time pressing one hand against her chest as she clenched the other tightly in determination._

_'I will put everything on the line to search and to find him. Regardless of my success, something has to happen. I just need to take the first step for it to happen, I won't hesitate... and I shouldn't ask all of you to follow me, it won't be fair to all of you... because I have a reason to seek, to fight, but... I would still would like all of your strength, if you could spare me some.'_

_Asuna looked around the room, and wasn't surprised to see Klein grinning while raising his hand in agreement._

_'… Asuna-san, weren't you listening to what Agil and I was saying earlier?'_

_Thinker had an exasperated look on his face while Yulier gave her an approving smile while raising her hand to show her support._

_'It's dangerous, and if you're right, something might happen to you. They might try to do something to you, Asuna-san.'_

_'Let them come.'_

_Asuna replied without hesitation, and this caused gasps to echo in the room as well. Asuna wasn't sure what her expression looked like at that moment, but she hoped that it was something that she would be proud of._

_'If they do, then it'll be proof that there is something wrong and that someone in the depths of RECTO Progress Inc is behind this.'_

_Asuna flicked her hair backwards before putting a hand on her hips, and then smiling at her friends, more specifically, at one of the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath._

_'That's just like what we used to do, didn't we? We'll use scouts to search for the boss room, and after gathering information about them, to devise a plan against it. It's the same when we fight the bosses of each floor as well. I should always trust my teammates, especially if they are in front of me, for I am guarding their back.'_

_Asuna smiled nostalgically but her eyes widened as well._

_'We had many scouting parties get wiped out because we weren't prepared. I... can't say that I'm fully prepared, but like a scouting mission... do we not do it because we are not prepared? Do we only go forward when we know everything? If that's the case, we would still be stuck in Aincrad, we would not have made progress in even clearing the first floor because we didn't know. The... unknown is scary, it's something that we all fear... but if that's all, if that's all... then I can't forgive myself if I just backed down because of I do not know my enemy, it would not be right. It would be forgetting all of them who had died so that we could live.'_

_Asuna's words made everyone flinch as she clenched her hands tightly again, her voice sad as she reminded everyone that they all here because of the sacrifices, the many lives lost during the whole process. Fourteen died in their last battle, and the death toll from the Front-lines were the ones that were the most missed. They were the nameless ones who had paid the ultimate price for the majority of the people who were able to escape now._

_'… I would never say that I am bitter against those that gave up, those that just wanted to live their lives in Aincard, for even I had been tempted by that thought, to stay with Kirito-kun, before I returned to the front-lines. But it's because of that, that I know that we should stand together, and not let those lives be in vain. How many amongst the three hundred were front-liners? How many of them were just normal people? That __**does not**__matter. What matters is that I wish to save them, and, I hope that all of you feel the same as well.'_

_Asuna's words had rendered the entire room silent again, this time Asuna did not look embarrassed or upset, or even aware that she had probably changed the mood of the entire café yet again._

* * *

..

_'That was quite the speech earlier, Asuna-san.'_

_The older woman, Yulier gave Asuna a very affectionate smile even as she took a sip of her drink. After Asuna's speech, most of them had gotten even more enthusiastic as well as fired-up then before. There was however, a large difference between the plans they made earlier. The ones who agreed to help would start going through the game by themselves, before updating all the members through a forum that was generously offered by Thinker and Yulier for their purposes._

_Since the two of them ran a magazine about MMORPGs, it wouldn't be too difficult to keep track of it, and it wouldn't be too suspicious either._

_'W-Was it? … Ahaha, I guess I... am just too desperate.'_

_Asuna gave a sheepish smile in return while she drank her third glass of water straight, Lisbeth, who was beside her, seemed to shake herself out of her daze. Lisbeth grinned before hugging Asuna again teasingly._

_'Well spoken from a newly-wed! Does Yulier-san know? Asuna and Kirito got married in game~ That's why she's so desperate, ahh~ So lovey-dovey~'_

_Lisbeth blew into Asuna's ears, causing her to squirm in discomfort even as she noticed that the younger girl, Silica, had became noticeably downcast suddenly._

_'Silica-chan? What's wrong?'_

_'A-Ah, no, it's... nothing... Asuna-san...'_

_Silica squirmed under the scrutiny of the other girls, who looked confused at her reaction till Silica mustered her courage again to speak, this time clenching her fists below her chin as she looked at the three girls. The girls themselves found themselves unable to believe how adorable Silica could look like that, with her doe-shaped eyes, determined expression on her child-like face._

_Wait, she was a child! But that aside..._

_'A-Asuna-san... you are married to Kirito-san... right?'_

_Y-Yes, I am, I married Kirito-kun about a month before he cleared the game.'_

_Asuna answered dumbly even as Lisbeth raised an eyebrow in confusion. Besides the two of them, Yulier was covering her mouth, no doubt to hide her growing smile at what was going on here. Even if she wasn't an expert in love, she had only known that she liked her guild leader until he was apparently lost to the world, but she was at least more experienced than the other three girls._

_'Then, the two of you... aren't engaged like Thinker-san and Yulier-san?'_

_This question seemed to make Lisbeth realize what was going on as well, for she turned red while Asuna shook her head in confusion. Perhaps Kirito's denseness had just spread to Asuna instead. Just like how inventory was shared, maybe that's how Asuna had gotten that determination from as well. But would it spread to her as well? Lisbeth was suddenly a little worried about that._

_'T-Then, Asuna-san.'_

_Silica nodded to herself again before she raised both her hands together to declare that she liked Kirito as well._

_'E-Eh!'_

_Silica's words made Asuna stunned for a moment, before she turned to see Lisbeth looking away as well, trying not to meet her eyes as she tried to tell herself that she should not raised her own feelings as well._

_But if she didn't, she might regret that, and so Lisbeth, after some hesitation, cleared her throat and said that she was too as well._

_'L-Lis!'_

_Asuna was caught completely off-guard, while Silica just stared at the older girl in a mixture of surprise, betrayal, exasperation as well as understanding._

_But all of them was not ready for Yulier giggling while admitting her little crush on Kirito as well._

_'W-What?!'_

* * *

..

_'But I have a daughter with Kirito-kun, so I win.'_

_Asuna admitted suddenly after the dust had settled. Yulier had admitted that she was just pulling their legs, but in the same vein, had taken delight in teasing the girls about it as well. Not to mention, she had started to gloat a little at how she was engaged to Thinker. It was of course, all in the name of good fun and the tension that might have happened due to Silica and Lisbeth's confession was swept below the carpet, till Asuna dropped this bombshell on all of them._

_Their daughter, Yui, was not one of the players of Sword Art Online, she was an AI, and she was probably with Kirito-kun right now. Asuna just prayed that Yui was safe with Kirito and was with him as well. Their daughter never failed to cheer the two of them up with what she did, and she was sure that if Yui was with Kirito, he would be safe._

_'A-A daughter!'_

_Silica gave a small cry before fainting from the shock, with Yulier barely managing to catch her. Asuna herself felt the full extent of Lisbeth's strength as she pulled Asuna to within inches of her face as she demanded answers from her._

_'Daughter?! As in real daughter? A DAUGHTER? H-How, what?! When!'_

_Lisbeth was like a fish out of water, her mouth opening and closing in shock while Asuna flushed at the memory of the things the two of them did together. But that happy feeling was replaced by sadness as she remembered what had happened to Yui as well._

_'Can we visit her? How old is she? Where is she now?'_

_Lisbeth was getting more and more excited at the moment, even as Yulier congratulated Asuna with a blush on her face as well. Even if most of the members who had gathered today had already left, they were still the nosiest group, and thus was monopolizing a lot of attention even as Asuna looked down again._

_'Asuna?'_

_'… I'm sorry but you can't visit Yui...'_

_Asuna bravely held back her tears as she looked up to smile at her friends again, all she had to do was to believe in Kirito-kun, and his promise that they will meet again._

_When they do, it won't be just him, it would be with Yui as well. That thought itself was another reason why she can't give up so easily. She wasn't just fighting for one of them, she was fighting for two of them._

_'It's... complicated... and... I don't wish to talk about it without Kirito-kun.'_

_Asuna blushed as well as smiled sadly, causing the questions from her friends to die in their throats as they watched Asuna sigh deeply even as she reached for her drink._

_'But I know that we will meet again, and when we do, I'll introduce Yui to all of you.'_

_Asuna gave her friends, and perhaps competitors a firm and confident smile, reassuring her that she was fine, and had just gotten an even better reason to keep on fighting._

* * *

..

_'Let's keep in touch, Silica-chan.'_

_Asuna gave Lisbeth as well as Silica a nod as they went their separate ways. Like mentioned earlier, the two girls had appointments while Asuna was going to visit Kirito-kun at the hospital._

_The meeting had ended with all of them agreeing on playing Alfheim Online, either in groups or by forming guilds to look for more clues in the game itself. Another group was also tasked to look into the 'secret' dungeon that gave them their first and only clue. They would meet in three days time for a progress update, and despite the tight schedule, they didn't mind._

_Especially when Asuna reminded them that there was probably going to be something going on in a week's time. Even if there were doubts that that was the whole story, Asuna had already convinced them to help, and none of them raised any objections or queries regarding the matter._

_Besides, she was the CEO's daughter after all, there could be things that was better left unsaid._

_'Yes, please, Asuna-san. Let's play together too.'_

_Silica had cheered up after what had happened, and even though Asuna wasn't sure why Silica had seemed happier, she guessed that like Lisbeth, getting the confession off her chest must be a relief to her as well._

_The three of them had became firm friends after that, and although they could technically be called love rivals, Asuna had also been declared the winner as Lisbeth had continued to tease her about her relationship with Kirito-kun. Silica had been more curious about their meeting, and had subsequently shared how she met with Kirito-kun as well._

_All in all, Asuna was in a good mood as she headed to the hospital and to Kirito-kun._

* * *

..

_'Are you visiting again, Asuna-chan?'_

_Asuna nodded to the nurse on duty as she passed by the duty station. Ever since she had been discharged from hospital, and had recovered enough to walk, Asuna had always visited Kirito-kun once every day. Some times she did so in the afternoon, but more often than not, she would do so at night, where she would be filling Kirito-kun in with what had happened to her during the day._

_It might seem like a silly thing to do, but Asuna wanted to believe that Kirito-kun would like to know what she was doing while he was resting, always waiting for him._

_'Yes I am~'_

_'Oh you look happier today, Asuna-chan. Did something good happen?'_

_The nurse on duty smiled even as Asuna shook her head, saying that it was just per normal. It was just small talk, but it was something that Asuna was happy for, for it allowed her to have a semblance of normality even as she visited him._

_'You aren't the only visitor though, I saw another person going to visit Kirgaya-kun. He should still be in now.'_

_'Ah... is it, my father who's visiting?'_

_Asuna felt the smile disappear on her face when the nurse shook her head, saying that it was someone she had never seen before._

_'Was... he wearing glasses?'_

_Asuna felt her entire body tense up, not in fear, but in anger, and she tried desperately to keep herself calm by biting her lip._

_'Why yes, he was... He looked like a fine young man too. … Are you okay, Asuna-chan?'_

_The nurse giggled, but then looked confused as Asuna clutched her stomach as she felt sick. So even the nurse was fooled by that man's mask, Asuna couldn't wait to rip that mask off. But what to do about this situation?_

_'I-I'll be visiting him right now then.'_

_Asuna wasn't sure what her voice sounded like when she quickly walked to Kirito-kun's ward._

* * *

..

_'Absolutely not. I refuse, there's no way you can make me agree to this.'_

_Asuna replied calmly and coldly when Noboyuki Sugou finished his 'marriage proposal' to Asuna. Apparently what was going on next week would be her father handing over the role of CEO to Sugou. That thought was enough to turn her stomach, but when he suggested to her that they should formally announce and finalize their engagement to each other, Asuna coldly shook her head to refuse._

_'I am sure that Kyouko-san had spoken to you about this before, Asuna-san. I truly am sincere when I asked for your hand, I swear that I would make you happy, and keep on doing that till the end of time. Believe in me, Asuna-san, I will make you happy.'_

_If that was a pick up line, Asuna was not impressed at all as she scoffed while dismissing him by waving her hands._

_'Sugou, you can stop with the act. We both know that you don't mean that, and there's no use in trying to keep that facade up in front of me, or Kirito-kun.'_

_Asuna noticed the small twitch in the corner of his mouth when she mentioned Kirito-kun, but the wolf in sheep's skin simply looked hurt as he pressed a hand against his chest, trying to implore his sincerity to Asuna._

_'Ah your words wound me, Asuna-san, please do believe me... and, quite honestly, I believe you have no idea what situation you are in right now.'_

_As Sugou's voice turn cold, Asuna gave her own dramatic sigh before crossing her arms and staring at him._

_'I'm glad that we can really 'talk', Sugou. What is it that you are after?'_

_'Why, I do believe I have been saying that for a long time now. I wish your hand in marriage, and you, of course.'_

_'And I already refused, I would never give myself to you. I meant, what do you mean the position I'm in?'_

_'Of course, you are aware of the company, Argus, who made Sword Art Online?'_

_'I do... what of it?'_

_Asuna tried to keep her features schooled as she felt her heart thump, was he going to really admit that to her? If so..._

_'But do you know what happened to Argus when the Sword Art Online Incident happened?'_

_Asuna did her best to look confused as she furrowed her eyebrows, causing Sugou to smile even brighter when he continued._

_'They were declared bankrupt due to the costs and damages they had to pay. And subsequently, RECTO Progress Inc purchased the entire company, along with it's debts.'_

_'I... Don't... you don't mean.'_

_Asuna's pained look was enough for Sugou, who made sure to gloat to Asuna, who was extremely excited herself as Sugou spilled the beans in front of her._

_'That's right, I am in control of the maintenance, and monitoring of the servers of Sword Art Online. Your little boyfriend here, or should I say, the _hero_, here... well.. how do I put it gently, Asuna-san? It would be sad and a tragedy if a machine or a server ... would suddenly ceased to function despite our best efforts, wouldn't it?'_

_Sugou delivered his lines coolly, almost as if he loved to drag the line out to torture Asuna with. Who was she kidding, he was obviously loving this, by flaunting this fact in front of her._

_'Of course, who knows what will happen to him, I'm sure that you know what I mean now, Asuna-san?'_

_If Sugou was expecting Asuna to be too shocked to say a word, he was terribly taken aback when Asuna simply shook her head and commented clinically that Sugou was blackmailing her, almost as if she was commenting the weather._

_Slowly, she walked past Sugou, and instead took her usual seat beside Kirito-kun, reaching out to hold his hand before looking back at him again, inviting him to go on._

_'Oh, I'm not doing that at all, Asuna-san. I'm merely making a suggestion for you to reconsider what you had said earlier. It would be good for the both of us if you weigh your the options you have more carefully. Of course, I am sure that you would not wish to hold the solemnisation process here. But perhaps our little hero here would be glad to see us getting married. He might even be wishing you well right now.'_

_Sugou was definitely gloating right now, but the triumphant smile was wiped off his face when Asuna sighed and said that she honestly didn't care what Sugou thought. And that he definitely was not getting his way._

_'I'll die before it happens.'_

_Asuna answered matter-of-factedly, causing Sugou to look terribly out of depths before he tried again, clearing his throat as he reminded Asuna that he had Kirito-kun's life in his hands, and for her to stop joking around._

_So much for not blackmailing, but that aside..._

_'And I'm sure that he would agree with me. He would rather die than to know that I was forced to marry someone else because of him. If he knew, he would rather die than let it happen. And when that happens, I will die along with him.'_

* * *

**_Author's Notes: R&R would be nice! Glad to see all of you supporting me as well! _**


	5. Inner Turmoil

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 5— Inner Turmoil**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

_'And I'm sure that he would agree with me. He would rather die than to know that I was forced to marry someone else because of him. If he knew, he would rather die than let it happen. And when that happens, I will die along with him.'_

_Asuna replied coolly even as she squeezed Kirito-kun's hands and with her free hand, reached out to caress his cheek, and then to play with her hair. Her statement was made with absolute certainty, with no hesitation whatsoever, and that by itself unnerved Noboyuki Sugou._

_He had been expecting some reaction out of her, at least, even a little when he dropped this bombshell, but to the contrary, and to his utmost surprise, it was lacking._

_Yuuki Asuna was not moved, or even if she was moved, she didn't care. That much Sugou knew and he was racking his mind as to why he knew._

_'… Did you knew before this, Asuna-san?'_

_Sugou finally managed to reclaim his tongue and he asked Asuna. The slight tilt of Asuna's head made him even more confused than ever, for it meant that Asuna probably didn't know about all that before. At least, that he could blackmail Asuna with this little information._

_'About... what, Sugou? About you holding Kirito-kun hostage? I didn't, but I knew it was within your capabilities. I should have expected it though.'_

_Asuna's thoughtful expression made Sugou even more confused, and he felt even more out of his depths. He knew of how Asuna had changed since she woke up, and even if she had shown dislike for him before the incident, she had always never voiced out her thoughts about him. That much he was grateful for, if Asuna had shown her dislike for him as obviously as she did now before, it would have been hard for him to have such a foothold, and a relationship of trust to her parents._

_But even if he had logically assumed that Asuna had perhaps gotten more mature and had probably grown more confident and perhaps even more courageous than before, he did did not expect Asuna to react in a way like she did today. He had severely underestimated how much she had grown in her two years stuck in a life-or-death game._

_She was too calm, collected, and perhaps a little too accepting of what she had learnt today. Even if Sugou took her words at face value and believed that she didn't know, that just meant that she doesn't even feel threatened by his words._

_Why would she feel that way? Her boyfriend's life was in his hands and he was blackmailing her to marry him! It was supposed to be a scene of anguish, of pain, of heartbreak, and of course, despair. He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time, and had been nursing the grudge that he felt from all of her dismissals so far. It was supposed to be where Asuna finally realized her place under him, for her to beg him to let him go, for her to swear that she will be engaged to him to save his boyfriend._

_He would also subsequently record and ensure that Asuna would forever remember today as the day where she had started the journey to become his, and to dwell with that shame for the rest of her life._

_But this... this...what is this?! How could she be so calm?! Did she already suspect? Did she already do something about this? That's ridiculous, even if Asuna did try something, there's no way of saving her boyfriend without him knowing. So what, is wrong, with her?!_

..

_'If you have nothing else to say, Sugou, I suggest you leave. You're polluting the air with your breathing.'_

_Asuna replied viciously, causing Sugou to take a few steps back again at her words. Asuna looked up as well, dragging her eyes from Kirito-kun before laying them on Sugou again. Her words had shaken him, and for the life of her, she really don't know why he was so confused, or intimidated._

_Apparently Asuna didn't realize the gleam in her eyes whenever she started getting defensive over Kirito-kun, it was quite an impressive stare, enough to even give Commander Healthcliff, or Kayaba Akihiko, reason to pause when faced with that look._

_Instead of retorting, or deadpanning about Asuna's viciousness towards him, Sugou got angry instead, and he spat out in disbelief at what he was seeing._

_'What's wrong with you?!'_

_'…?'_

_His outburst made Asuna raise an eyebrow in confusion, half-raising to raise an arm protectively over Kirito-kun as Sugou continued in his frustration and inability to know what is going on in Asuna's mind._

_'I have your boyfriend's life in my hands, Asuna! And what are you doing now? You should be telling me that I'm not allowed to do that, to say that I will not get away with this, you should be shocked, you should be crying, you should not be behaving in this... in THIS-!'_

_Sugou slammed a hand on the wall to highlight his frustration even as Asuna finally understood what he meant. And was quite amused by it too._

_'Do you really believe that by having Kirito-kun's life in your hands, you could make me agree to be with you?'_

_Asuna honestly sounded amused as she turned back to look at Kirito-kun again briefly, before turning to look at Sugou again._

_'Well, do you, Sugou?'_

_'His life is mine, Asuna. Whether he lives or die, depends on what I say and what I decide.'_

_Sugou did not back down, not even realizing that he was saying so much, but Asuna didn't care what he said, for she already had the conviction to follow what she had said earlier._

_'And I already said, if he dies, I will die along with him. It's not the first time that he has done so for me, and I would do the same for him.'_

_Asuna smiled happily at Kirito before standing up, pushing the chair she was sitting on backwards as she faced Sugou firmly. She was not backing down from this, from her statement, and from what she knew was the right thing to do._

_'Kirito-kun promised that he would save me, that he would help me return to the real world. He did so, he kept his promise. And I promised him that I will protect him, that I won't ever cause him harm, and I would be with him, always.'_

_Asuna took a breath as she tilted her head slightly again, this time the act seemed to make Sugou even more confused, perhaps terrified as Asuna smiled._

_'I would cause him pain if I were to marry against my will, and I would never do that. I would rather die than do that... and if I were to die, he would no doubt do the same. Likewise, I know that Kirito-kun might kill himself to save me from my pain from marrying against my will, and if he did, I would join him as well. We would, be together, if not in life, if not in Sword Art Online, if not in the real world, then we would be together in death. This is my promise, this is my oath, and this is my determination, Sugou.'_

_Asuna's smile and her determination was enough to cause Sugou to panic as he lashed out again, telling Asuna that she was crazy._

_'You're mad! You're insane, Asuna! How could you do this? How can you just accept this! Why won't you struggle, why won't you fight? Why do you just say that you rather die!? Why won't you submit to me! Even if this is what you want, is this what your boyfriend would want?!'_

_Sugou seemed to calm down after his outburst, realizing that he had potentially hit a gold mine by accident, but it was not enough to cause Asuna to waver._

_'I might not know, but you don't know either, Sugou. And I will never trust whatever you say... But I trust Kirito-kun, and I trust the promise that he made with me.'_

_Asuna's calm words once again made Sugou's blood boil as he snapped, telling her if that was what she wanted..._

_'Then I'll make sure he die now!'_

_Sugou reached for Kirito's Nervegear, and was both relieved as well as terrified by the dangerous look that Asuna had when she stopped him._

_'So you're afraid still, Asuna.'_

_Sugou tried to sneer back at her, but it was not having the effect that it used to have as his legs were shaking at the sight of Asuna's glare._

_'Do not touch Kirito-kun, Sugou. If you do, I'll kill you.'_

_Even if she was still less than fully recovered from her two years, she still had made significant progress in her rehabilitation as well as physiotherapy. And an angry woman was someone that one should never scorn. Sugou realized that today as he quickly backed off from the protective girl in front of her._

..

_'So... is that it, Asuna-san? Despite your big words, you're still worried for Kirigaya-san, aren't you?'_

_Sugou knew that his facade was all but unnecessary now, but that did not mean that he shouldn't keep it, for it really did keep him collected when dealing with the changed Yuuki Asuna._

_'Your point being?'_

_'Asuna-san, despite your misgivings and I do find your determination and conviction to be something very worth praising. The fact remains that Kirigaya-kun's life, and potentially his well being depends on me. I would advise that you still consider my suggestion to you. I expect your answer in five days time, we do have things to arrange for if we are holding the ceremony here, Asuna-san.'_

_Sugou gave her a mocking bow, his confidence restored partially by what he said, till Asuna spoke up again._

_'You need me alive, don't you, Sugou.'_

_'Asuna-san?'_

_'The roles are reversed, Sugou. I can never trust you and I will never trust you. Regardless of your words, regardless of what evidence that you have, I can't trust that you'll keep your word.'_

_Asuna spoke so quietly even as she ran a hand through her hair. There was something odd about her now, even more so than before and Sugou shivered again when he saw Asuna fingering a fruit knife carefully with her hands._

_'But you can trust me, Sugou. When I said that I will die for Kirito-kun, and I would rather die than be married to you, I will definitely do so.'_

_Asuna pressed the edge of the knife against her wrist, and that act alone caused Sugou to freeze._

_'But you need me alive, Sugou-san... so I will take good care of myself, as long as you do the same for Kirito-kun. Now then, Sugou-san, I believe you are just leaving?'_

_Asuna's dangerous smile was enough to cause Sugou to bolt, for he slammed the door hard after he left, no doubt scared shitless by what he had witnessed earlier. He didn't even voice a single word of complaint, or perhaps complaints, but Asuna didn't care. As long as he got the message loud and clear._

_'… I'm never doing that again.'_

_Asuna gave a weak sob as she dropped the fruit knife on the floor, her tensed nerves finally relaxing after what she did earlier. Perhaps she was right the first time, she was probably going crazy._

_Or desperate, that sounded much better._

* * *

..

_'Asuna-san.'_

_Asuna was eternally grateful that she had been prepared and had turned on the recording function on her phone before she entered to confront Sugou. It was also probably due to that did she found the courage to speak so outrageous words, it would no doubt sound like a bad soap opera to her when she eventually goes through what had been recorded. But unfortunately, Asuna had to admit that it wasn't quite true. She had meant every word, and it wasn't courage that made her say those words that Sugou, it was belief, it was faith, and it was undeniable what she felt for Kirito-kun. Her truest feelings._

_That's why she jumped and almost fell off her chair when someone else opened the door a few moments after Sugou had left. It was Suguha-chan, Kirito-kun's sister, and she was wide-eyed and shivering as she stumbled into the room._

_'S-Suguha-chan!'_

_Asuna found it in herself to reply her, although she knew her voice was quivering as she tried to smile at the younger girl._

_'Asuna-san... w-was...what you said, true?'_

_'W-What things, Suguha-chan?'_

_Even as Asuna prayed to herself that Suguha hadn't overheard the two of them, it was something that was doomed to failure as, Suguha looked to the side awkwardly, or sadly as she played with her hands._

_'What... you said to... the man that just left, Asuna-san.'_

_Asuna felt the strength leave her even as she leaned against the back of her chair tiredly, this was really an exciting day packed with surprises. And she wasn't sure how she should start explaining what Suguha had overheard her._

_'When... or what did you hear, Suguha-chan?'_

_It was a while before Asuna could manage a reply, and in the meantime, Suguha had taken the other seat next to Kirito-kun. Suguha swallowed nervously before saying that she had knocked on the door, but since no one had replied, had went in._

_'I didn't mean to eavesdrop, really, Asuna-san! It was that... I overheard you saying that... you would die for Onii-chan... and then I...'_

_So Suguha had probably overheard her telling Sugou that she would rather die than get married to someone else? Or did she overhear how her onii-chan would probably kill himself because she get married?_

_Either way, Asuna felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment and she clapped her hands over her head for a moment before looking up awkwardly to look at Asuna. The younger girl was fidgeting too, her face flushed as well. But when they locked eyes again, Suguha swallowed before shaking her head._

_'Asuna-san...what does that person mean by saying that he has Onii-chan's life in his hands? Is he saying the truth?'_

_Suguha asked softly even as Asuna found herself straightening her back while narrowing her eyes, it was a habit that she picked up during her time as the Vice-commander for her guild. Time for the vice-commander to go about her roles, there... this was perhaps not the best time for an emotional sharing session with the younger sister of her love._

_'Yes, he is..'_

* * *

..

_Asuna spent the next half an hour giving Sugha a general breakdown of what had happened before, what she had discovered with her friends, what their plans was, and of course, Sugou's own confession._

_The younger girl's eyes simply got bigger the longer she spoke, and Asuna was feeling more than a little worried that Suguha's eyes would pop out from the many ridiculous things that she was telling her._

_But of course, Asuna was more than perturbed that the biggest shocks for Suguha was that her Onii-chan had more than one girl after him at one point in time. Well, that was to be expected, Kirito-kun was more than attractive enough in his own right, and it didn't help that he was always willing to help others in need._

_'Does onii-chan... really... met so many people in Sword art online?'_

_Suguha finally spoke after Asuna took break from her explanation of the situation to drink some water._

_'Y-Yes, Suguha-chan... even if he tried to keep to himself and he played alone for a long time, Kirito-kun did meet a lot of people. Kirito-kun he... saved a lot of people too. You have to believe in your Onii-chan, Suguha-chan.'_

_Asuna smiled, but then her own smile got confused as Suguha shook her head, and said that that wasn't what she meant._

_'Onii-chan, he's always alone... I never saw Onii-chan with his friends... I didn't think he has many of then.'_

_Suguha gave a weak smile before she smiled happily again._

_'So I'm glad that Onii-chan made many friends in the game... if he's happy, then I'm happy too... I'm glad, that I was able to know that Onii-chan was happy there... I was always very worried, but I knew Onii-chan would be able to pull through. Onii-chan is strong after all.'_

_Suguha giggled weakly even as Asuna saw her fighting back tears, but those tears started falling for real when Asuna reached over to hug Suguha instead. She pressed the younger girl against her, comforting her even as she patted her back. Seeing her in that state made her remember what had happened when she woke up as well._

_After she was done with her psychological analysis and was led back to her ward to rest, her family had gathered around her, thanking the gods that she was fine._

_Asuna had missed her family, but to be honest, she hadn't missed her life before SAO. She hated who she had been like, how she had been satisfied to live the life that her mother wanted her to lead, how she had never done anything despite feeling so empty and restless all the time. Asuna had realized that she had not been truly living before SAO, and in the heat of combat, in that meaningless life-or-death game, she had found a reason to live for. And had found a person to live for. So, quite honestly, Asuna must admit that she felt a large amount of guilt that she had not realised that even if she had not missed her life, her parents had missed her, her brother had missed her... and she had not considered what they felt._

_'Suguha-chan...'_

_Suguha's brother was not back, and even though this was cold comfort to her, it was still a manner of comfort for her, and her family to know that Kirito did not suffer in the game. Well, at least not in the manner that they had feared._

_'We... we had many terrifying moments, and there are times that we thought we would not be able to come back here again... But, Suguha-chan. Your brother never once thought that, he knew that we would be coming back... and in the end, he was the one who had made it all happen. So, Suguha-chan, he will come back, I... will bring him back, no matter what.'_

_Asuna made a promise to Suguha, and the younger girl, who had been crying before, suddenly fidgeted, her hands reaching up to rub the tears away from her eyes, and then looked up at her._

_'Asuna-san... you can save Onii-chan?'_

_'… Sugou says that he has your brother, Suguha-chan... and I think I know where he is.'_

_'T-Then, can't we go to the police?'_

_'The police won't believe us, and even if we did... we might be putting Kirito-kun in danger.'_

_Asuna answered softly, even as Suguha separated herself from her, this time to look at her in disbelief._

_'T-Then, what... can we do? What will Asuna-san be doing?'_

_Suguha asked her fearfully even as Asuna smiled, this time pulling her phone from her pockets, and subsequently replaying the recording of the conversation she had with Sugou._

_'A-Ah, then... with this we can.'_

_'Yes, we can do something... but besides that, I'm going to look for Kirito-kun myself.'_

_'Look for Onii-chan? Where, Asuna-san. Do you know where he is?'_

_Suguha really looked lost, and Asuna didn't blame here, there's just so many things to take note of today, that Asuna herself was also quite lost._

_But she knew that this was the just beginning of her long journey._

_'I think so, but even if it's just a small chance, I won't give that up. Actually.. that's not right.'_

_Asuna looked sheepish before scratching her head, and saying that she definitely knew where Kirito-kun was, but the problem was actually finding him._

_'Where is he, Asuna-san? Tell me! Tell me!'_

_'In Alfiheim Online, Suguha-chan. He's somewhere in Alfheim Online.'_

* * *

..

Recalling what had happened earlier in the hospital was enough to make Asuna feel extremely conflicted again. She was really... totally in love with Kirito-kun wasn't she? No, she shouldn't doubt that. Asuna had no ally right now, not even her own family, but then again... Asuna had been in that situation once didn't she, in Sword Art Online? There's no reason for her to hesitate now then.

She'll just have to explain things in a later time. Asuna tried to reassure herself when she heard someone knock on her door.

'Who is it? Is it you, mother? I... I don't want to be disturbed today.'

Asuna called out wearily even as she waited for the person to identify herself. She wondered who could it be, would it be her father? If it was him, she would have to apologize to him for the fall-out the day before. Even if he had not known the potential landmine that topic would raise, that did not mean that she could be so upset at him for it.

'Asuna, it's me...'

'Nii-chan?'

Asuna gave a soft murmur of surprise before she walked towards the door, unlocking it and smiling at her elder brother, Yuki Kouichirou. Asuna wasn't close to her brother, but they weren't distant, like how Kirito-kun was to Suguha. That said, the two of them had barely spoken after she had woken up, probably due to how he probably was still feeling guilty over how he had been the one who had caused her to go through all of the things in SAO in the first place.

But Asuna didn't blame him for that not really, sadly, she even if she had told him that, it didn't stick.

'I heard what you told mother, and father...'

Asuna gave a sad smile back even as her brother leaned against her door, studying her even as he fingered his own collar nervously. Unlike Asuna, who was a glass vase, he was one who had taken great strides to plot her own path, and not for the first time, Asuna felt jealous of her brother.

'… I'm proud of you, Asuna.'

His words caused Asuna to blink even as she gaped at her brother in surprise.

'I've never seen you stand up for yourself, and... I always hoped that you would. It's not for me to decide who you should marry, or who you want to marry... so I am supporting you, Asuna.'

Her brother's words made Asuna smile happily, and she even giggled when her brother added that whoever wanted to marry her, had to go through him first.

'No younger sister of mine will get married without me seeing the boy.'

He grinned even as Asuna continued to giggle, but the smile disappeared when Asuna stopped laughing and told him that she hadn't told him something too.

'What's that, Asuna?'

'That I never blamed you, nii-chan. For, what happened to me, was not your fault. I told you that before, but I don't think you believed me. So... Nii-chan... I'm happy that I went inside the game, that I played Sword Art Online, and that I went to Aincrad. It might sound crazy, but it's there that I met Kirito-kun, there that... I learned what I want to do with my life... I admit, that I was scared, and I experienced many horrible things... But, but... I also learnt lots as well, and I the people, the friends, the things that I learnt there, would not be possible because of you, Nii-chan.'

Asuna's words caused her brother to look pained, for his reply was that she shouldn't have gone through all that.

'If I hadn't lent you the Nervegear, you wouldn't have to... go through that, Asuna. I should have been there to protect you, instead I was the one who trapped you there.'

'And Nii-chan, I already said, that I am thankful for you... and, it's not your fault, you didn't know... it's all Kayaba Akihiko's fault. And... by supporting me here, now... you're the best brother ever.'

Asuna reached forward to give him a hug, even as she told him that she missed him too.

'I... I'm sorry, for not telling you that... brother...'

'Asuna...'

And the two of them spent some time talking about what had happened the week, before he had to excuse himself again.

'What are you going to do now, Asuna?'

'… I'm going to save my important person.'

Asuna answered seriously even as her brother raised one eyebrow, before sighing.

'… You will do that, won't you?'

'Yes, I will.'

Asuna smiled even as she reached for the game disc in her bag, a game disc that was given to her thanks to Suguha. It's time to go onwards, time to fly, time to save Kirito-kun!

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for your support thus far!**


	6. A New World

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 6— A New World**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for your support and faves, I really am flattered for your support! Please do support my other SAO fic, Shield and Swords too!**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta as always!**

* * *

..

Asuna felt extremely nervous as she turned on the Nervegear after wearing it. She knew that it was not the device that was at fault, but it still made her nervous when handling it. This was the device that had trapped her for two years in the virtual game, Sword Art Online after all. There was no chance that the device would trap her within it in the game now, this much was stressed upon her return, but she still was a little hesitant.

'This is for Kirito-kun.'

Asuna told herself, and upon saying that, she felt her own fear be suppressed even as she took a deep breath, and subsequently loaded the game.

'Link... Start!'

..

'_**Welcome, to Alfheim Online.'**_

It was a lifetime ago that Asuna had last seen the log-in, as well as character select menu, and she gave a brief sigh of relief as her surroundings changed around her. She was standing in a small room by herself, even as screens started lighting themselves in front of her eyes.

Then, a keyboard materialized itself in front of her, inviting her to use it even as the AI voice continued.

'_**Existing character data is still available. Would you like to use that data?'**_

'Eh? Existing character data?'

Asuna gave a confused look as the screen waited for her confirmation. Shown in the list was an unknown character name.

'Titania...?'

Frowning, Asuna wasn't sure what to make of the situation, it was a character that was registered under her? Within her Nervegear itself? She knew that that Sugou was already up to something, and especially since she actually knew something was up, she was very suspicious of this development. Was it a parting gift from Sugou? If there was, then there's no reason for her to choose that avatar at all.

'No.'

Asuna selected the 'No' option before the screen prompted her to select a name. There was only one name that she was going to choose, and one name only.

'Asuna. And the race... I remember that Suguha-chan told me to select Sylph... so I could meet up with her.'

Asuna smiled as she saw the avatar for Sylph appear, it was modelled after quite a standard image of an Elf, and she nodded in acknowledgement as the screen turned black, with the AI stating that they would be transporting her to the hometown of the Sylph.

_**'Best of luck.'**_

* * *

..

Within moments, Asuna found herself standing in the middle of the hometown of the Sylph, Sylvian**. **The random character generation had left her with long hair, similar to how her hair length was, but with it being light green in color instead. Still, she reasoned that she had lucked out, for she reckoned that a trip to the salon would make her look like how she was in SAO. She was still used to having her own Avatar look like herself in SAO, and she pouted in front of the mirror that she found before she decided to send Suguha, or Leafa, a message in game.

They had decided to meet up in game before starting their own investigation to the secret dungeon that was located near the roots of Yggdrasil itself. Suguha had been adamant in helping, and after knowing that she was playing Alfheim Online, Asuna couldn't say no, she could use the help as well anyway.

'Well for the moment let's look at the status menu...'

Asuna told herself as she started wandering around the place, before deciding to sit down in a secluded space before trying to open the menu. It turned out that the menu was activated on the left instead of the right hand, causing Asuna to briefly panic before she accidentally opened the window.

'Ahh... that's so embarrassing.'

Even as she feel her cheeks blush from that simple mistake, Asuna scrolled down the menu before she remembered something important about this entire mission.

'_**You are about to Log out, are you sure?'**_

'Whew... so that's fine at least.'

Asuna gave herself a small smile even as she started the messaging function, punching in Suguha's ID name, before sending her a message to say that she was online. They had agreed to meet around 8pm, and like the world outside, it was night in the game as well.

'Mm... what about my status...'

Asuna mumbled to herself before clicking on her status, and getting a shock as the parameters for her character was high, too high for her to be considered a low levelled player and she found herself at a loss to what to do.

'Is this supposed to be a bug?'

Asuna asked herself even as she scrolled down the status, before stopping at a particular skill.

'Maxed... cooking? This is...'

The exact stats she had in SAO! That revelation was enough to cause her to stand up in shock as she looked around her. This was definitely not SAO, the area did not fit with any level that had been unlocked in SAO so far, so why...

'Why would I have the same stats I did in SAO?'

Asuna asked herself thoughtfully, but her thoughts was interrupted when a window popped up.

_**'Leafa would like to be your friend. Register as a friend?'**_

'Ah, so she's here too. Maybe she could give me an advise or two about this and the game...'

Asuna told herself before accepting the request, and speaking in game with Suguha on how to meet up with her.

* * *

..

'I'm sorry for the wait!'

Asuna said apologetically even as she finally entered the inn that Suguha/Leafa mentioned as the meeting place. It wasn't quite hard to locate her, as there were only a few girls with blonde hair like she had said she would be in the Inn, but Suguha herself had difficult recognizing her instead till she noticed the name of the character.

'Asuna... san?'

Suguha asked her timidly before she nodded her head.

'That's me, Su-... I mean, Leafa-chan.'

Asuna rubbed her head apologetically even as she smiled at Leafa, and her companion as well.

'I-It's alright, I... I didn't expect you to use your character name as Asuna again... b-but anyway, where are my manners. This is my friend, Recon! Recon, this is the friend that I was telling you about, she's Asuna-san.'

Leafa smiled as she introduced the smaller boy sitting beside her. For some reason he was staring at her closely as well, Asuna recognized that look, it was something that she was used to seeing. But then again...

'Hello, I'm Asuna, you must be Recon. It's nice to meet you.'

Asuna gave him a smile even as she sat down beside Leafa, the younger girl giving her plenty of space to do so. Asuna noted that like in real life, Leafa's... weapons as a woman were still bigger than hers, and that was enough to cause her to sigh a little before she realized what she was doing.

'Asuna-san? Is there something wrong?'

'A-Ah, it's nothing... and you shouldn't call me Asuna-san, you can call me Asuna, or Asuna-chan, Leafa-chan~'

Asuna smiled at her, but the two's conversation was interrupted when Recon suddenly spoke up again.

'A-Ahhh... Ah, I-I'm Recon, it-it's nice to meet you... A-Asuna-san!'

Recon suddenly ran up to her, and clutched her hands while introducing herself. The sudden act was enough to cause Asuna to freeze for a moment even as Leafa leaned over her to slap Recon on the head.

'Seriously! What was that about, Recon! G-Gomen, Asuna-san, it's all Recon's fault.'

Leafa gave Recon a glare even as the boy went back to his seat, his face as red as a cherry. Asuna on the other hand, decided to do put an end to all of it by calmly stating that she was married.

'I'm married to someone, Recon-san, gomen. But then... Recon-san, you like Leafa-chan desho?'

Asuna gave a mischievous giggle even as Leafa turned on her immediately, Recon on the other hand had the grace to at least hide his face even as Leafa told her to knock it off.

'B-Besides, I don't see Recon in that way, he's just a friend to me. Oh, I know him in real life too.'

Leafa smiled even as she slapped Recon on the back of his back, not even noticing, or perhaps simply ignoring the crestfallen look that Recon had.

'Asuna-san?'

But Asuna wasn't listening, instead, she found herself remembering the connection between two married players.

'Leafa-chan, could you come with me for a moment! I need to speak to you in private, please!'

Asuna pulled Leafa out of her seat before she answered, and then as the two of them walked together, she asked her if there was a way to find a private room so that she could check something out.

'Well, we could... but, why, Asuna-san?'

'There's... something that I need to show you, that I... I am not comfortable with showing anyone else.'

Asuna bit her lip as she shot Leafa an apologetic look. After hearing her request, Leafa gave a sigh before nodding her head.

'Okay, give me a second.'

Leafa turned back, no doubt to speak with Recon about this even as Asuna clutched her own chest, both in excitement as well as in trepidation. Please, let this work!

* * *

..

'So, what's going on, Asuna-san?'

'Leafa-chan, I told you to call me Asuna! Or Asuna-chan!'

Asuna pouted even as Leafa sighed while shaking her head.

'You're older than me, Asuna-san...'

'But age is nothing in the game, isn't it, Leafa-chan?'

'U-Ugh...'

Leafa found herself weakening under the excited expression that Asuna had on her face, and after a while she surrendered.

'T-Then... Asuna...-san...'

'Leafa-chan...'

Asuna groaned weakly, it was going to be a work in progress after all. But there were other more important things now as well.

'What's.. going on, was Recon bothering you? If he is, I'll speak to him about it.'

Leafa asked curiously even as she crossed her arms, looking at Asuna sitting down on the bed in the room she had rented for her.

'Leafa-chan, look at this.'

'Hmm...?'

Leafa leaned closer to have a look at Asuna's stats, and when she did, her eyebrows shot up in surprise at the levels of the skills that Asuna had.

'M-Mastered One-handed Rapier?! W-What is it with those stats of yours? A-And mastered cooking?'

Leafa was seeing stars even as Asuna explained that it was her stats in SAO as well.

'I tried it out earlier too, I was able to dash here quite quickly... but I got lost, so that's why I was late... And, well, I can't fly, I don't know how yet.'

Asuna admitted gloomily even as Leafa recovered herself, and coughed to get Asuna's attention again.

'Flying or not, those skill levels is very impressive, Asuna-sa-... I mean, Asuna, looks like we don't need to level you up then.'

Leafa gave Asuna a smile even as the older girl continued.

'Leafa... Kirito-kun and I, were married in game... and that means that, I have all his possessions as well... ...Keep this a secret between us, okay?'

Asuna spoke even as she used one of the items in her inventory, a small tear shaped like object that Leafa had not seen before.

'What is that? U-Waa!'

When Asuna selected and used the item, the entire room was covered by a bright light emitted by the item itself. Leafa had difficulty looking at the light, but for Asuna, she already saw what she wanted to see.

'Y-Yui-chan?'

Asuna called out to the young girl that was re-forming in front of her eyes, her voice was soft at the start, almost unbelieving, but then she cried out louder than ever when she was sure that it was her daughter, her Yui, hers and Kirito-kun's daughter. She had faith in Kirito-kun, and if he said that Yui would be able to reunite with them, she would believe him, and Yui, their family would be reunited again.

'Y-Yui! Yui-chan!'

Asuna cried out louder then ever, and this time Yui responded by opening her eyes and looking down at her while floating in mid-air.

'Y-Yui-chan! It's Mama, do you remember me? It's me... it's Mama!'

'M-Mama?!'

Leafa was lost for words as she stared at the two of them, first at the floating girl, then at Asuna, but she was unable to speak before Yui nodded, tears forming in her eyes before she tackled Asuna, burying her face into Asuna's stomach as Asuna caught her.

'Mama! Mama! We-We meet again, Mama!'

'Y-Yui-chan, Yui!... Yui-chan... I-I'm so glad, I'm so glad... Yui, my Yui-chan!'

The two of them continued to hug each other, cry in each other's arms, looking so happy that even Leafa was unable to get a word in. She was only able to look on with a growing smile at their interaction.

* * *

..

'A-Ahem. Leafa-chan, this is Yui, she is my daughter with Kirito-kun. Yui-chan, this is Leafa-chan, she is Papa's younger sister.'

Leafa couldn't help to stop a strangled cry at the thought of her brother having a child with Asuna, but that thought was unable to fully materialize into question as Yui smiled up at Leafa happily.

'I'm Yui, Leafa... T-That makes Leafa, Aunt Leafa right?'

She was an Aunt? At this age? To such an adorable girl?

Leaf felt faint and she had to sit down to keep herself steady even as Yui turned back to look at Asuna with a sad expression.

'Mama, Aunt Leafa doesn't like me...'

'N-Nonsense, Leafa-chan has a lot of things to think about right now.'

Asuna knew that she had dropped too many bombshells today for even Leafa, who had only a few hours ago, learned about a conspiracy that trapped her brother in a game that she played for months as well. Now she discovered that she had a niece, and that her brother had apparently conceived a daughter with her? A daughter that looked to be around 4 years of age? Anyone would be shocked silly by all those revelations.

'But Yui-chan, I'm so glad that you're alright...'

'Mm! Papa saved me inside his Nervegear, but since Mama is married to Papa, Mama can access his items too. So, Mama could meet with Yui!'

Yui explained even as Leafa finally managed to gather her thoughts together again.

'I-I'm an aunt... an aunt?! Onii-chan... what were you thinking... Don't you know we were so worried?! And during that time you and Asuna-san...'

Somehow, Asuna felt threatened as an aura of killing intent overwhelmed Leafa, and she felt extremely nervous when Leafa placed her hand on her sword in a practised drawing position.

'Asuna-san, did Onii-chan and you plan to have Yui-chan?'

'P-Plan to have?'

'Then... it was an accident?! Onii-chan...'

Asuna turned redder than ever as Suguha looked ready to kill, she was just glad the target wasn't her. Still, the situation was getting more dangerous than ever and if this continued...

'Papa and Mama found Yui! And Yui, is Papa and Mama's daughter! Aunt Leafa... won't hurt Papa for saving Yui... neh?'

Yui's words, innocently phrased, caused the two women to pause even as Yui sniffled in Asuna's arms at the display of violence. The sight of Yui crying was enough to cause Leafa to wave her hands desperately in front of her to try and stop Yui from crying.

A part of her told her that if she made the girl cry, she would never forgive herself.

'A-Ah, Yui-chan... It's not like that! Y-You know, I-I... I was just worried for Asuna-san, Onii-chan, y-you know, sometimes he can be a little dense.. ahaha~'

Leafa tried her best to smile and explain her anger but she froze when Yui asked her if she could stop being mad at Kirito.

'T-Then, Aunt Leafa won't be mad at Papa? Papa he... Yui really likes Papa! And Mama! They saved Yui, so... Please, Aunt Leafa! Don't be mad at Papa and Mama!'

'A-Ahhh...'

Faced with the weapon that was Yui's cuteness, Leafa had no choice but to promise Yui that, even if Asuna did find that scene both endearing as well as disturbing.

* * *

..

'So we were right, ALO does have the exact same source code as SAO... Is that why my player information was transferred over as well?'

Asuna asked even as Yui nodded her head. Yui had taken the form of a navigation pixie, an item that could be won in a raffle within the game itself to hide herself within the game. Even if Yui was able to access some of the data that remained, she wasn't given any administrative rights this time, which was a pity.

'Mama, you should probably delete all the items... They are incompatible with ALO. If the game does a check on Mama, they might say that you are a hacker!'

Yui raised her hands to emphasis how important this was, and Asuna agreed.

'It's just that... some of the items would belong to Kirito-kun... he'll get mad at me for deleting his spare armour...'

Asuna gave a very long sigh when she found out that Kirito actually kept at least three different spare sets of the same black cloak that he always wore.

'He always did say that those clothes were his private collection... Yui-chan, if Papa gets mad at me, you'll help me right?'

Asuna gave Yui a hopeful smile, and she smiled when Yui nodded her head in agreement.

'Mmmm! Yui will help Mama explain to Papa!'

'Then it's fine... but I will definitely miss my Flaurent... Lizbeth is going to be so mad at me...'

Asuna mentioned with a wry smile, but she still did as she was told, deleting the entire shared inventory before turning back to Yui.

'What about my stats then, Yui-chan? I might be high levelled, but when I look at my MP...'

ALO was a game with magic, and even if Asuna found that to be a novel experience, it was also true that with her pathetic MP level, it would be hard for her to do any spell-casting.

'All of Mama's skills are compatible with ALO, but Mama's MP and HP stats are not converted in the same way, so Mama has to be careful! Mama's death penalty would be very high if Mama dies in the game.'

Yui reminded Asuna, but this only caused Asuna to giggle before shaking her hand at Yui.

'Yui, I agree with Agil-san in this... A game that one can die in, is too easy.'

Yui blinked in surprise, but then nodded in understanding. The only one who didn't understand why Asuna's smile was bigger than ever was Leafa, who asked her what she meant by that.

'I have no intention of dying, neither in Aincard, or in ALO...'

* * *

..

'So first of all, we should get you some equipment, Asuna-san...'

It took about an hour till the two of them was able to get things sorted out. To start their investigation, they had to go to Yggdrasil which was quite a distance away. But since they were strapped for time, they would have to travel to the next town, Sylvian, which would allow them the best and shortest way to Yggdrasil proper.

Still, despite Asuna's higher than normal stats, it was still important for her to get some proper equipment for the mission. Added on the fact was that besides her high stats, Asuna was still a newbie in the game, and couldn't even fly yet.

'What kind of weapon would you like, Asuna-san? I use a one-handed sword, it works with my kendo.'

Leafa grinned even as Asuna thought to herself, but there really was only two weapons that she was familiar with anyway.

'I would like to use a rapier, and I'm good with a spear too... so either one is fine.'

'A rapier huh... Well, we should try that shop. Does Asuna has any money to afford it? I can loan you some...'

'No, it's fine. My credits transferred over too.'

Asuna gave Leafa a smile even as they entered the armoury, only to exit it soon after she purchased a few items.

'… Well, I guess they'll do.'

'Ahaha, gomen, Sylphs don't really have many weapon makers... the Dwarfs are the ones make weapons. But since this is Sylph territory, and the hometown, we rarely see them having shops here.'

Leafa clapped her hands in apology while Asuna grumbled about the lack of craftmanship in the shop. But it was to be expected from an NPC after all, and Asuna sighed while saying that it'll do.

'Well, now that I got some equipment, let's do some training!'

Asuna smiled at Leafa even as she followed her lead, the both of them chatting while walking towards the exit of the small town.

It was the start of a new adventure, one that would end with her saving Kirito-kun, she was sure of it!

* * *

..

'I... I didn't know flying was this hard.'

Asuna grumbled as she tried to balance herself in the air with the controller. She had thought flying would be easy, but apparently it needed a lot of hand eye coordination, something that was impossible while holding a controller with one hand, and trying to keep a hand on her sword in the other.

'Ahaha, it does get some used to, isn't it? But don't worry, you're doing much better than what Recon did in his first time.'

Leafa tried to encourage Asuna even as she helped her up from yet another landing.

'Well, at least I was able to keep flying for 5 minutes this time. I keep thinking that this is my rapier...'

Asuna grumbled at that, pouting too as she sat down to rest.

'Well, there's a trick to it, why don't you try flying without your controller, like how we do it?'

Leafa suggested even as Asuna tilted her head slightly in confusion.

'Isn't it supposed to be harder this way?'

'Well, yes, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. You know, sometimes not every method works for everyone.'

Leafa raised her hand to try and calm Asuna down before the older girl sighed and nodded.

'Well, so let's give it a shot anyway...'

Yui, on the otherhand, had wisely chosen to stay with Leafa throughout the whole process, even as Asuna tried her best to learn how to fly as quickly as possible.

Besides her two new weapons, she had picked out some armor too. Nothing too fancy, just a simply white frock, covered by a white coat that made her look similar to Kirito-kun's own clothes.

She had always been embarrassed at how flashy her clothes were in the guild, but knowing the cost of each uniform was enough for her to accept them without complaint. That said, wearing white, while Kirito wore black made her feel connected to him somehow.

'Go, Mama! Fighto!'

With Yui cheering her on, Asuna knew she couldn't fail, and she followed Leafa's instructions before taking off, struggling at the start, but then slowly, she understood what was needed, what was the secret behind it all.

'R-Right! I-I think I got it this time!'

It took a while, but it definitely improved how long she could stay, well, in the air, for after the first ten minutes, Asuna was able to keep herself hovering in the air, a feat in itself considering how she could barely fly straight with the controller in her hand.

'That's it! Great job, Asuna-san!'

Leafa cheered even as she took to the air too, smiling at her even as she thread air beside her.

'Well, now that we finally got you flying... wait... do you know how to land?'

'Land?'

Asuna asked in confusion just as she looked down to the floor below her.

'E-Eh... Land...'

Asuna paled even as Leafa ran a hand down her face in exasperation.

'Well, let's work on it then...'

* * *

**Author's Notes: If there's any part that you find is unconvincing so far, please feel free to highlight it and I'll see what I can do to fix it!**

**My beta has been pulling his hair about it too!**


	7. The First Taste

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 7— The First Taste**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Writing battles is too hard. So hard... so I take full responsibility for any errors even if my beta has gone through it before.**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

'This is amazing!'

Asuna declared to Leafa and Yui happily as the two of them flew in the night sky together. It was a very novel and exciting experience for Asuna. The feeling of the wind brushing against her cheek, the sound of the wind rushing past her, as well as the sight that she was able to see, it was really amazing!

'Desho neh? That's why everyone wishes to get to the top of Yggdrasil. Those who those, will be able to seek an audience with Oberon, the King of the Fairies. They'll be able to make the entire race into Astrals, beings who could fly infinitely in this world.'

Leafa explained, but she noticed Asuna muttering to herself in confusion.

'Oberon? Neh, Leafa-chan... what was Oberon's wife? Wasn't it..Titania?'

'Eh? Well... I guess? I don't know... why the sudden question, Asuna-san?'

Leafa was confused at the way Asuna frowned and then winced at the thought. So the other account was for the Queen of the Fairies, Titania? Did that mean that Sugou could be Oberon? What... arrogance. It was lucky that she remembered the research of the lore of ALO during the meeting with her fellow comrades in the day.

'Asuna-san? Is something wrong?'

Leafa had began to notice that there were many things that were troubling Asuna about the game, and even if she was filled in on the situation and what she could expect to see and what Asuna planned to do, she had the feeling that the situation was much more complex than she had imagined at first.

Well, it was something to be expected, there were many things that she didn't know after all.

'Neh, Asuna-san.'

'Yes, Leafa-chan?'

After a while, Leafa tried to strike a conversation again, this time she lowered herself so she was flying beside Asuna. The two of them were making a great pace towards Sylvian, and they would be there in a quarter of an hour. Leafa had to give it to Asuna, her phenomenal stats had made it possible for her to match and perhaps surpass her own flying speed. It was both heartening, as well as demoralizing. Even in game, she couldn't match up to Asuna after all.

'How... did you meet with Onii-chan? How did you know Onii-chan?'

Leafa's question made Asuna stutter a little as she recalled what had happened then. She supposed that it was inevitable, since Silica and Lizbeth had told their story to her, her curiosity was sated too. But to Suguha, who haven't learnt or heard of anything about Kirito-kun's life in SAO was probably curious too.

'Ah... well, he saved me... from losing to SAO.'

'Losing... to SAO?'

Out of the corner of her eye, Asuna saw Yui wriggle out of her pocket, and she knew that she had no choice but to spill the beans. Her daughter would allow her nothing less.

'Yes, you know... that in SAO, if we die in game, we die as well. I... After the first week, when I saw so many people take their lives...'

Asuna paused when she saw Yui's face pale as well, and she took the time to keep her hand off her weapon to stroke her hair to try and reassure her.

'Now Yui-chan, you don't have to listen to this.'

Yui was the AI who was created to help the players after all, but she had been barred from helping the players who were obviously in shock, or perhaps had their minds collapse under the stress.

'But... that first month, was also the time I almost lost to SAO... I didn't care that I lived, no, I didn't care at all about what was happening to me... I told myself that I didn't want to lose to SAO, to lose to myself... when I had actually lost... I didn't care whether I lived, or I died, all I wanted to was to die on my own terms... So I fought, and I fought.. and I fought...'

Asuna had a bittersweet smile on her face as she told Leafa her story, it was not a happy one, but despite her misgivings about her past weaker self, she couldn't be mad at her older self for thinking that way.

It seemed impossible, no one could clear the game and she had been prepared to die if she had failed to survive the first floor dungeon. But Kirito had saved her, and had given her hope that they could clear the game.

'I... I liked my life in Aincrad, because Kirito-kun was there... and I told him that we could run away and be together... but in the end, we decided that we have to clear the game, to be lovers... in the real world. It's... ironic, isn't it, Leafa-chan? I... was one of the top clearers, I had a reason to keep fighting to beat the game... and in the end, all I wanted to do was to be with Kirito-kun. I think... at that time, when he saved me from myself in the first level, he gave me hope that we could win and I just went on with that, I was fighting to leave... when I didn't have anything to return to.. I just... I guessed I just wanted to believe that I would... have something. It's odd, isn't it? ... And when we met again, a long time later, he gave me the reason why I tried so hard, it's because... I wanted to return with him, to be with him... But now, that I did...I know I definitely felt that way then, but now... now I just... I... rather we didn't leave, not when he...'

Asuna stopped speaking, for she couldn't, not with the tears that was falling down her face, nor how Leafa had hugged her from behind despite being in mid-air. She couldn't because Yui was hugging her face as best as she could as well, trying to comfort her.

'Leafa-chan... Yui-chan...'

'… Asuna-san... you're being too hard on yourself. Onii-chan he, you said it yourself. Onii-chan he is fighting as well, he's fighting to come back to you, Asuna... so, you can't lose again. Not this time, when you promised me, and you promised him that you would save him.'

'Aunt Leafa is right, Mama! You promised! And you always keep your promises! Papa too!'

With their support, Asuna found herself smiling again, and she wiped her tears away before she nodded to them.

'Gomen neh, Leafa-chan, Yui-chan... I wanted to talk about happier things... but I ju-'

Asuna suddenly stopped, this time not because she wanted to cry, but because she heard something coming towards the two of them. She might not have sank in as many skill points as Kirito-kun did with his detecting skills, but she was a veteran in the front-line, and she heard something being fired towards the three of them and she reacted accordingly, grabbing Leafa before dashing into the forest below for cover.

'W-Wha-'

In front of Leafa's wide eyes, a fireball blew past the three of them, missing them due to Asuna's quick evasive actions. Looking around, Leafa caught sight of a small group of Salamanders that was advancing towards them. They had only one dedicated mage amongst the party, but Leafa could make out that the bulk of the party was wearing armour, that meant that they were quite skilled and used to combat.

'T-This is bad-.'

Leafa managed to reply even as she readied herself for the upcoming conflict. It wasn't that uncommon to see small groups of Salamanders patrol the neutral area of the Sylphs. Since the two races had traditionally been rivals, the neutral areas were always filled with skirmishes between the two races. It just didn't help that it happen at a bad timefor them. Leafa had planned to teach Asuna about combat when they reach the neutral town, where they could actually engage in duels with some of the players there. It would give Asuna more experience with dealing with other races. But it seems that Asuna would have to learn from a very steep learning curve.

At least, that was what Leafa thought, but she wasn't so sure when Asuna smiled grimly, almost looking like she was anticipating the fight as she rested one hand on the pommel of her rapier.

'… Whew... it has been a while, hopefully I'm not too rusty.'

Asuna gave Leafa a confident smile even as she readied herself as well. This was a battle they _could_ afford to lose, but she didn't like to lose and was stubborn on that point. If she had to go down, she'll take down one of them with her.

* * *

..

Asuna took a deep breath even as she readied herself, steadying herself and trying to get used to the significantly lighter weapon that she was now welding. This particular weapon was so much lighter, but it was also so much weaker than her own past weapon. She couldn't wait for Lisbeth to start playing so she could start getting her old equipment back.

That said, she was eager for battle, not because she loved to battle, but she wanted to know whether she could match up with the game's players. There will definitely be a time where she would have to clash with them, and if Sugou had a hand in this, it would be best for her to be prepared for anything.

Besides, player killing was accepted here and with those conditions, it's best to see if she was able to deal the final blow and not flinch away like she did with Kuradeel.

As the group of five Salamanders descended from above, in quite an orderly as well as close knit formation, Asuna took note of how all of them seemed to shield one member behind them, not even breaking formation while in the air.

'Now then, it's five to two odds. Why don't you just surrender your money and items, and we would let you off? You wouldn't want a death penalty now, do you?'

One of the Salamanders offered even as Asuna turned to look at Leafa for her reply. She had confidence in Leafa's abilities, she had played ALO for quite a while, and honestly, Asuna was impressed with the way she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

A katana was primarily focused on the draw, the more perfect the draw was, the more likely that the blade won't be damaged when it was actually used in combat. It was said that a true master was able to draw their swords, and sheath it in one movement, while cutting their target of course.

Leafa however, learnt Kendo, and Kendo never focused on how one draws one sword. But rather, focuses on how one should attack the enemy with their rapid and precise strikes to the opponent, not letting them have any ground to counter attack. Judging from the focused expression and how she held her weapon, Asuna was sure that Leafa was good at battles too. Especially since ALO thrived on PK, like what her research and her discussions with her friends had uncovered.

'There's no way that we are doing that.'

Leafa answered even as she prepared her weapon. The Salamanders themselves must have spotted them by sheer luck, well, too bad for them, for Asuna nodded even as she drew her weapon as well. Time to see how her combat skills and experience matched up with the players in ALO.

..

'I-Impossible...'

Yuuki Asuna, also known as Asuna, was called the _Flash_ by players who saw her in battle. This was due to her speed as well as her skill with her rapier in executing the rapier skill, [Linear]. [Linear], like it's name is a horizontal and straight stabbing move that was performed with a rapier. It was her speed, as well as unerring accuracy that gave her that name sake.

But even Asuna was surprised when she was able to kill the mage that the Salamanders were guarding with that final strike to his chest. Experimentation had shown that although she was able to sprint and move as fast as she used to on land, she couldn't meet that same speed in the air. That she chalked up to inexperience, but she was still surprised, not that she was able to move as fast as she could in that short burst, but that she still had it, she still could aim for that one single gap between the four player's to strike the last player even as they tried to defend him, and that single strike could be strong enough to defeat and 'kill' him instantly without her even activating a skill.

..

Yes, well, Asuna supposed that the four of them had valid reasons as to why they were trying to defend the person at the back. Leafa had explained to her about how combat worked in ALO. For the Salamanders, they prefer to defeat their enemies with their long ranged fire attacks even as their knights, or tanks, hampered their foes ability to strike at the mages from close combat. Mages were apparently very fragile, and were easily dispatched by fighters in close range. It was a strange concept for Asuna to understand, as in SAO, if one wasn't prepared for combat at all times, they would die. Sure, there were different play styles. For example, her own play style was based on extremely fast, and accurate attacks on her enemies. She relied on her own speed and ability to dodge the enemies attacks and not to face them head on, even if she had a significant amount of skill points allocated to parry, it was hard for her to do so repeatedly. Kirito-kun was more aggressive with his double sword style, and even if she felt that it was a waste for him to still have his one-handed sword mastery mastered, Kirito-kun was still at least better in parrying due to the nature of his weapon.

Even Lisbeth, who was a blacksmith by profession, was reasonably adept in fighting and battling as well. The last she checked, Lisbeth was level 79, a pretty high level for a blacksmith, indeed she was one of the highest level blacksmith in Aincrad, probably due to Lisbeth partying with her quite often during the two years together.

If even a blacksmith, who was not in the front-line could defend herself in battle, there's no way why someone in ALO would create a character that would actually needed to be defended and couldn't defend themselves easily.

At least, that was Asuna's thoughts, until the final member of the Salamander group finished casting magic, and hurled a gigantic fireball in their way. If they compensated for their weaknesses with overwhelming power, she could buy that.

'So... that's magic.'

..

Asuna stared at the impending danger for a moment before she started moving instead. Yui's warning was not left on deaf ears as instead of running straight into a lance thrust by one of the guards. Asuna had instead took off by running away from the fireball instead of dodging it. The speed in which she did so was astounding, she had not pushed herself in the city for she didn't want to give herself away, but out in the woods, where only her enemies could see, she had no problems using the most out of her abilities. Moving so fast that she was simply a blur, Asuna dug her shoes into the bark of a tree, before back-flipping over the fireball with the help of her wings. It was much easier than she thought, what with her high levelled acrobatics skill level, and then she was off again, this time spinning as she delivered several slashes to the legs of the remaining guards for the mage. Asuna's first target was logically the mage behind the remaining three knights that was trying to stop her advance. But to Asuna, the _Flash_, they were akin to moving in slow motion as she delivered two vertical slashes at their legs and two straight thrusts straight into their sword holding arms before she jumped again, this time taking into the air briefly before landing in front of the startled mage.

Even if ALO was a game that encouraged player-kills, as well as combat that took place while flying, Asuna's speed rendered the difference moot. Due to her own skills, as well as her experience, Asuna was able to make use of ALO's flight mechanics to 'jump' and 'land' much easier than before. Since they invited themselves to combat so near the ground, where Asuna was very used to fighting in, they had to pay for it.

Her rapier flashing, Asuna delivered multiple thrusting strikes at the startled mage, drawing orange points on the person's body as her strikes registered their damage on him. Unlike Kirito-kun, Asuna's attacks didn't deal as much damage as his, and even when compared to Lisbeth, who was lower level than her, Asuna's maximum damage output per hit was quite low. Asuna compensated for that with her DPS (Damage per second), with her speed and accuracy, Asuna was able to pick out critical weak points in her enemies, or simply dealing extra damage by focusing on the same points all the time.

The rapier was designed as a thrust and slash weapon, build for close range combat and fencers used both their speed as well as their accuracy to deal pinpoint and deadly attacks to their enemies.

Asuna was the same, she attacked the mage's arms relentlessly and by the end of her first few attacks, had managed to make him drop his staff in panic at the numbness that he felt from her unrelenting attacks. Unlike SAO, where only a tingling was felt, damage done in ALO would cause numbness. Asuna knew that her attacks would surely make him feel, _something_, and that by itself was enough to cause him to drop his staff. Surprisingly however, she had not killed him, for she actually had made quite a crucial mistake despite her stellar performance earlier. That was, there was no sword skills in ALO like in SAO. Asuna had gotten so used to using her sword skills in battle that she had not realized that the system was not aiding her in dealing extra hits, as well as damage that she had actually failed to deal as many hits as she used to, seeing how she was so used to the system linking her skills together in SAO. Even so, without the system aiding her with the extra hits and damage, Asuna had actually followed through her normal combination without even realizing her mistake.

..

Unfortunately for Asuna, that was enough for the other salamander guards to try and retaliate to her attack on the mage. Perhaps it was Asuna's own hesitation about attacking another person that made her unable to deal the killing blow? After all, in SAO, when players duelled, they would normally select the 'first-blow' mode, where the two duellists would strive to be the first person to inflict damage equal to half the opponent's HP. It was a totally safe way of duelling, for it won't result in deaths, deaths were permanent in SAO after all. Asuna had taken part in a few duels in her time, and the only lost she had was to Kirito, something which did bother her a little.

Even so, she had not lost to her other challengers, and perhaps that's why Asuna had hesitated, or perhaps unconsciously decided that the 'duel' was over when she dealt so many crucial hits to her foe's arm. In SAO, targeting limbs was a valid strategy in duels, for it would deal extra damage if they were either severed, or perhaps disabled due to her attacks. Since she was a rapier user, Asuna could use that to her advantage, if she managed to disarm her opponent, the duel was more or less over.

Perhaps that's why Asuna hadn't continued with her assault and allowed the other Salamanders to regroup even as she leapt backwards to rejoin Leafa.

'How did I do?

'Ahaha... Asuna-san, you are amazing...'

Leafa gave her honest opinion even as she continue holding her sword in her ready position. Asuna had been faster than she had imagined, she had never thought that anyone could run _that_ fast and Asuna had simply left the other Salamanders in the dust before attacking the mage of the party. Even with her experience in Kendo, as well as her own experience in the game, she was unable to count how many attacks that Asuna had landed on the Salamander mage before she had been forced to retreat again. Still, this proves her point earlier about the weak weapons, it was probably due to the low-levelled weapons that she had obtained that saved the Salamander from certain death. If she had dealt those blows with her sword and her stats, which were still lower than Asuna's, the Salamander would no doubt be dead now.

'Well, time to end this.'

Asuna remarked cheerfully before she dashed forward, her rapier flashing as she pierced through the four guards, cleanly killing the Salamander mage in a single strike.

* * *

..

When it became apparent that it was not going to be as easy as they thought it would be, the Salamanders broke formation and instead swung their weapons at Asuna almost clumsily, much to her dismay.

As she had noticed in her time with her guild, it was almost never a good idea to pack people together when they were attacking. It was a different thing when they were meat tanks, shield users whose role was to absorb the damage that would be dealt to the weaker, but bigger damage dealing party members in a raid. But when it came to the offensive, it was a bad idea to come at an enemy with more than two individuals at one time.

This was highlighted sadly as the four of them got in each other's way more than they were attacking Asuna. The _Flash _was simply too used to dodging attacks for any of their slow lance thrusts able to even hit her. An important thing to note about lances was that they were only effective up to a certain range, they had to place themselves a certain distance from their enemy for their weapons to be effective. Any further and their thrusts would not have as much power as they were supposed to have, any closer and their enemy might actually slip so close within their guards that they could only retreat in order to try and attack again. Of course, the alternative was to simply try to swing their lances to clip the enemy with the edge of the lance but due to how lance users usually has to brace the handle of their spears against their body when attack, it was difficult for them to build up any momentum to even hurt their enemy by swinging at them.

A fact that Asuna abused quite liberally as she side-stepped and subsequently dealt several punishing stabs to the chest of the knight on the left, leaving him wheezing a little even as Asuna ducked low to slash at the legs of the other two knights as well.

Just as suddenly as she had taken the mage down, Asuna was facing two to one odds as Leafa had engaged the last knight by herself. Even in the middle of combat, Asuna was able to catch glimpses of Leafa's own battle.

..

Leafa was as aggressive as her brother in combat, perhaps it runs in the family, but Leafa quickly closed in on her chosen foe, whose eyes widened when he saw her approaching as well. Perhaps it was seeing how Asuna was skilled when battling on firm land did the Salamanders took to the air to try and neutralize the advantage. Sadly for them, Leafa was quite used to melee combat in the air. Once she closed the distance between them, Leafa launched her attack without any hesitation whatsoever. Her own sword flashing in the moonlight, Leafa slashed at her foe, first aiming at the shoulder, which was hastily blocked by the startled Salamander's lance. For all purposes, Leafa knew that this battle between the two of them was already won. A lance user should always be aware of their weak points, and one of them was that once they allowed their foe to close in within their guard, they had lost all possible advantage they had.

Leafa's weapon was a standard one-handed sword, but she prefers to hold it with two hands, due to her kendo experience. This weird habit was due to how two-handed swords were commonly much heavier as compared to their one-handed sword counterparts. And since Kendo focused more on speed than strength, especially since she was lighter, Leafa had decided to train exclusively on one-handed swords, but chosen to hold her weapon like a two-handed one.

This was also an advantage for her, for most players would not expect a two-handed sword user to be able to attack as fast as Leafa does.

Even as she swung at her foe, Leafa kept her focus on the surroundings. Unlike Kendo, where she would always be sure of her footing, anything could happen while in the air. She remembered how once Recon had been defeated by an enemy mere moments after he had defeated one himself. There was however one disadvantage in wielding a one-handed sword with her two hands, and that was she lost all the advantages of a two-handed sword, the higher attack power, the heavier crushing weight, and the ability to parry and defend better with a heavier sword.

Also, if they were on the ground, the advantages were all Leafa's if she closed in. But in the air, it was never quite that clear cut. For they were _flying_, and that meant that in order to keep herself within the guard of her foe, Leafa would have to fly at the same pace as her foe did if he was retreating, which he was doing right now even as he faltered under the vicious combos unleashed by Leafa. Her strikes were merciless, and it was testament to the skill that the Salamander had in his lance, or perhaps in his heavy armour skills that he could withstand being struck by Leafa so many times.

Eventually however, there came a time when Leafa had to end it and perhaps rather foolishly perhaps, raised her sword higher than normal to bring it down for possibly the final time on her helpless foe.

However, her attack failed for the retreating foe, in that split second charged forward instead, getting into Leafa's guard instead and knocking her back a few feet due to her much heavier weight and mass.

'U-Ugh...'

Leafa winced as she felt annoyed at being knocked backwards at that. Judging from the way the knight was eyeing her warily, Leafa wouldn't be able to get in his guard that easily again. That was fine, she had dealt enough damage to end the battle anyway.

'Prepare yourself!'

Leafa stated even as she readied her sword again.

* * *

..

Asuna decided that it was actually quite boring dealing with the remaining two knights, who was desperately trying to attack her in the air even as she fended them off from the ground, dodging and leaping backwards as she could read their moves quite easily. Perhaps she had to give them credit for being disciplined and focused on their repetitive attacks instead?

Asuna had dispatched of the knight that had foolishly tried to attack her alone, and that was a huge mistake to make. After the first screw up, Asuna had not hesitated this time, they were players who wanted her head, and since they were prepared to kill, they better be prepared to die as well.

It had all taken barely a minute before Asuna had dealt the final blow to the knight after disarming him with several accurate slashes on the wrist of his right arm. With him disarmed, Asuna had made short work of the knight, her rapier nothing but a blinding, stabbing silver light as she struck him mercilessly in the vital areas like his joints, his chest, neck, and repeatedly too till the Salamander Knight fell back and died. It was like being killed by a thousand paper cuts. Each doing minor damage, but together was enough to kill.

The final knight had rushed in to take his place, and it was here that Asuna showed once again her title as the _Flash_, for she lashed forward, stabbing one of the knights in his neck, causing him to stop his charge. Allowing Asuna to deliver a vertical slash right in his chest, terribly scaring him at how fast she had moved even on land, and the battle commenced again.

With a single step, Asuna had lunged forward like a rattlesnake, dealing another stab and in the next, she had struck again, this time stabbed at her foe's legs instead. Before, in SAO, Asuna had relied on the system to help her deal damage, but due to her tailoring her own battle style, Asuna had developed a kind of muscle memory that allowed her to use her sword skills in a similar manner, even if the damage input was never the same.

'Time to end this then.'

Asuna nodded to herself before jumping, and taking flight, but only for a brief second as she somersaulted in the air above the cornered Salamander Knight. With her speed, dexterity, and unerring accuracy, Asuna's rapier flashed multiple times, striking the knight at the back of his neck, the only exposed area where the armor separated from the helm. Before she landed on the ground again, the Salamander Knight had died as well, leaving behind a red fireball behind.

..

Looking back, Asuna saw the final moments of Leafa's battle as well, the younger girl had charged her foe in the air again, raising her sword in the air, the Salander's lance being pulled back to counter before she suddenly changed stance, skilfully drawing her sword back like a lance as she increased her speed as well. Asuna's eyes widened when she realized what she was doing, she was doing an aerial [Linear], and with her speed in the air being faster than Asuna, she could barely keep up when Leafa struck the Salamander a devastating uppercut to the chin with her sword mercilessly.

The damage done was more than enough to defeat the Salamander, and a moment later, Asuna was exchanging hugs with Leafa even as the two of them floated down to the floor for a small breather.

'We won!'

'Yes, we definitely did!'

Leafa smiled at Asuna even as the older girl stretched a little.

'I never had any doubt, I knew that Leafa-chan would be able to help me! You're amazing, Leafa-chan!'

'A-Ah... No, you're the one that's amazing! You were so fast, I could barely see you!'

'You're the same, Leafa-chan, with your speed in the air... I'm jealous...'

The atmosphere was totally unlike SAO, there was no mourning, no feeling of lost. This... was a game, a game that they were playing due to the whims of yet another cruel person. In essence, didn't they escape from one, only to run into another?

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for your support, reviews are appeciated as always**


	8. A Different Standpoint

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 8— A Different Standpoint**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: God this release was almost never released due to IRL issues. Anyway, thank you, ****_bowpurity _****for the beta!**

* * *

..

Asuna was very psyched at her first combat experience in ALO. It wasn't as easy as it was in SAO, simply because she wasn't as used to the flight mechanics just yet. But thankfully for her, her foes overconfidence had allowed her to engage them in a more familiar footing. She wasn't too sure how she'll face when they do engage in aerial combat though, that'll be tough.

Still, Asuna chalked that up as a good experience, simply because she got a better measure of what kind of enemies and tactics that she might face in her journey to find Kirito-kun.

Simply put, she had hesitated at first, being unsure as her enemy was a human, a player, and the deeply rooted instinct inside her that she could, might and would kill them if she got serious made her hesitate.

Such hesitation in the heat of battle could be fatal and Asuna was thankful that in this case, for the magus that she had spared, it hadn't been. For if he had been able to counter-attack, or to even hamper her retreat from his companions, she would have been the one that was 'killed'.

It was odd now, how that term... didn't seem as scary, or as real as it had been in SAO.

Agil was right, a game where people can die in it, was really too easy for them. Perhaps it was that determination and fear of death that made them stronger, and made them more desperate, and better than the average player?

Asuna didn't quite know, but she told herself to try and hold on to that same feeling she had before, for it was what might separate her from the rest in ALO. She could not fail after all, and if she did, then, life itself had no meaning without Kirito-kun. So, she will have to win every fight, she will have to survive every challenge, there is no time for her to wait and she could not die. It might seem silly to others, but not to Asuna, not to perhaps all the players who played SAO. 2 years of fighting for their lives, after that, just thinking about the possibility would be enough to make them recall what they had experienced over those two years.

Things, that sometimes were not worth remembering as well.

..

'Let's go on, Leafa-chan.'

Asuna spoke casually after a few minutes breather. The entire confrontation had barely taken 5 minutes, such was the pace as well as the speed she had despatched of her foes, and Leafa agreed.

'There might be more of them, we should hurry. I'll be picking up the pace now, Asuna-san.'

Leafa nodded seriously even as she took to the air, Asuna following her closely before her eyes focused, and she shot forward like a speeding bullet.

'W-Woah!'

Asuna gawked at the rapidly disappearing Leafa before she too took off, pushing herself as fast as she could on her wings. It was a very odd sensation, as well as a very odd action for she was used to sprinting in SAO. This was, totally different. Her thoughts however, was interrupted by Yui, who said weakly that she couldn't go on.

'Ah, Yui-chan, you can hide in my pocket then.'

Asuna smiled even as she unbuttoned the coat pocket to allow Yui to sit in even as she tried harder to catch up with Leafa.

It took a while, but eventually Asuna did manage to catch up with Leafa, who smiled at Asuna even as she clapped her hands together.

'It's like I expected, Asuna-san! You're really very very fast. I always thought that since you were so fast on the ground, you'll be just as fast flying as well.'

'So... it's a test too?'

'Well, somewhat. Grandfather always told me that during competitions, it's much easier to lose if one thinks about what one is doing.'

'Eh...? I don't quite understand.'

..

Asuna tilted her head in confusion even as the two of them continued on their hurried pace. Leafa was one of the fastest Sylph's in ALO, and seeing how Asuna could keep up with her easily, Asuna would share at least the same title as well.

'Well, in Kendo, when we are training, we swing our swords repeatedly... I must have swung my sword more than a few thousand times... perhaps a million times now, that it becomes second nature to me. We do that to get our bodies to be familiar with the process, it's called muscle memory, we get used to doing what we have done repeatedly over our practice. The practise also makes us better in what we are doing and we get better till we are the best we can be in that particular stance or action. When we practise enough, we would also be able to replicate the right movement all the time unconsciously without thinking about it.'

Leafa explained even as Asuna nodded her head in understanding.

'Then, when we think about what we are doing, we would normally not be able to do the same, because instead of following what our bodies have been trained to do, we follow what our brain 'think' we should do. So, I think that it's best to learn things by 'doing' it, instead of 'learning' about it. Asuna-san, you flew better without the controller, desho? So you did even better unconsciously when you tried to catch up with me, rather than trying to _learn_ how to fly faster, neh?'

Leafa answered cheerfully even as Asuna clapped her hands in understanding.

'T-That's amazing! Leafa-chan, you're an amazing teacher!'

Asuna beamed at the younger girl even as Leafa blushed and looked away.

'N-No, nothing like that... I... I just thought that it'll work.'

..

Leafa admitted, but she couldn't help but smile happily too as Asuna was all smiles. It was an aspect of Asuna that Leafa had not expected her to have. The Asuna-san that Suguha knew was a person that really, really, really liked her Onii-chan, Kirigaya Kazuto.

To see her so excited and happy about her first battle in ALO was a little disconcerting. In ALO, there really wasn't any levelling system, instead the game emphasis on the usage and mastery of skills. The more one uses skills, the better they were at that particular skill. However, it's not just that, real skill matters as well. Leafa had initially thought that Asuna was good at fighting because of her high skill stats that were transferred from SAO, but then she saw the way she moved in those unorthodox battling style, the confident way in which she held her weapon, as well as the dangerous glint in her eyes when she landed the final blows on her enemies. Asuna liked battling and she thrived in combat... and that thought was enough to cause her to be a little apprehensive and confused. Did her brother know about this? Then again, her brother had been the one who had stopped and defeated the madman, Kayaba Akihiko after all. It makes sense that he was a very good player and a good swordsman too. Could her gentle brother be... better than Asuna in combat? That thought actually made her feel proud and upset at the same time, Onii-chan had always shown great potential in Kendo, she was right in saying that it was a waste for him to just give it up so easily after all!

..

But back to the main point of her not knowing Asuna, for in the past few hours, she had seen many aspects of Asuna that she had not seen before. In retrospect, it was to be expected actually, as their initial meeting hadn't been the best introduction after all. She had been very upset to see a stranger bursting into her brother's room, totally brush aside her family's questions before dropping the bombshell that she was her Onii-chan's girlfriend and secret love.

If Suguha had not been prepared for the worst when her brother had not woken up despite the rest of the SAO players had, she would have fainted by then. Thankfully, or unfortunately, she didn't, and was forced to witness the stranger cry and beg for her brother to wake up. She had done the same for quite some time after the news that her brother might not wake up due to a game had sank in.

It hadn't seemed real then, and it certainly didn't seem real to see her Onii-chan's _lover_ doing that in front of her. In an instant, Suguha had turned from younger sister/cousin, to a girl who had just had her unrequited love utterly shattered. It would be enough to cause her to cry too, but all she could do was to watch on as Asuna continued to shake and beg her brother to wake up. Suguha had tried that for days, but she realized that it was just her clinging to disbelief, she truly believed that it was a dream, that it was a lie, and that her brother would wake up by himself.

In essence, Asuna and her were the same in what they wanted. The two of them wanted Kirigaya Kazuto/Kirito-kun, to wake up, but they differed from each other as they had different reasons for how he would wake up.

For Suguha, she was clinging onto the hope that the news reports were wrong, that someone, somehow would do something to help her brother to wake up. That this was a nightmare, that this was not real, and in the next instant, her brother would wake up just like that. At least, Suguha had believed that, for although she respected, and liked her big brother, she had never thought for once that her Onii-chan could be the one to take the lead in a bid to be free from the nightmare that had consumed them, as well as their families.

It's not that Suguha did not believe, or had faith in her brother, she... like many ordinary people, with ordinary lives, had difficulty imagining that their family members would, in times of crisis, show themselves to be capable of great things. Those heroic acts were always documented on Television, in newspapers, and in almost all of the occasions, it was always the common man who showed their worth, as well as their bravery at the most hopeless and unexpected situations.

Did their family members, or their friends, or they themselves ever thought that they would be capable of that fact? The answer would usually be a resounding no, and Suguha, together with the Kirigaya family, was in the same boat.

They clung onto the hope that someone else would save Kirito, and not Kirito himself. Perhaps, when the days dragged by, and the news of the 'terrorist' act died down, perhaps Suguha had tried to hope that her brother would do something, would respond to _her_ desperate prayers to wake up. But to be totally honest, Suguha didn't believe it herself. She wanted to, but it was harder for her everyday. Her visits to the hospital slowly dropped from once a day to once every three days, her time spent with her brother would less be of praying, and begging, but more of her staring at her brother, waiting, hoping. The two things seemed similar, but they were different. The former was Suguha believing that there was still something to be done, the latter was her praying for a miracle to be happen, something that would only occur when all available methods were exhausted.

Suguha had not given up hope, but the hope that she clung on to, she knew it was irrational. But she believed in it anyway, she tried to believe that her brother was doing something, all of the victims were doing something to be free.

That was what differed from her and Asuna.

..

Asuna, she never wavered, she had never changed what she believed in. She believed in her brother, Kirigaya Kazuto/Kirito-kun, and she knew that he would be doing all that he was capable of to come back to her, to them. She was simply waiting after it became apparent that her onii-chan was not going to wake up with her actions. So she waited, and with just that difference, was enough to make Suguha feel ashamed, upset, embarrassed as well as angry at her all together.

Asuna was her onii-chan's lover, his girlfriend, and in that one aspect, Suguha felt that she had utterly lost to her. She hadn't believed in her onii-chan, had obviously no idea what her onii-chan was like, and despite, despite liking her onii-chan, hadn't had the courage to proclaim her love like how Asuna-san was able to.

All of that made her feel embarrassed as well as ashamed when she met with Asuna-san when she visited her big brother. Perhaps it was also due to her appearance did Suguha wanted to change herself as well. Even if it was obvious that Asuna-san loved her big brother and was so passionately in love that she truly did not care what others viewed her as, Suguha was not going to give up her big brother without a fight! She had been family with him for so many years now, even if... she knew that he had been avoiding her and her mother for the last four years. Suguha knew that it was not making a good name for herself, but still, she _was_ his sister after all! Only, they were not blood related... so the saying of: 'Blood is thicker than water' didn't apply here.

Still, Suguha was still family! But if Asuna was her brother's lover and they married, even if it's in-game, it would mean that Asuna was her sister-in-law, and was family!

With Suguha's own confusion and inability to discuss her situation with her mother, she had adopted a wait-and-see approach to Asuna and what she really wanted with her brother. If the two of them really loved each other, Suguha would be willing to give up voluntarily, it would be bad for her to get in the way of her brother's love after all, seeing that she was his sister. It wouldn't be right... and besides, Suguha felt that no matter what she did, she couldn't beat Asuna with her devotion and belief of her brother. She wouldn't call it possessive just yet, but it was close enough for her to feel somewhat conflicted at seeing somehow so obviously in love with her brother.

Their mother, Kirigaya Midori had expressed that as much to Suguha after witnessing Asuna's devotion, as well as having a conversation with her one night when she was visiting. Suguha trusted her mother's judgement on that subject and had given up trying to doubt Asuna's love for her brother. The question now was whether her brother really felt the same for Asuna as well. Asuna had told them told them how they had met, and how they had gotten married... and how he helped saved all of them. But unfortunately, she hadn't gone into too much details at that time, she was still defending her position as Onii-chan's lover after all, but now that she had the chance, perhaps she could learn more about their relationship together!

Even if Suguha was extremely, extremely upset at them adopting a daughter and not even informing her. She had almost lost it, and if she knew that her brother had done something to Asuna in the game when everyone was worrying over them, she'll make sure that he'll taste the edge of her sword as well.

..

'Ah! That's right!'

Suguha/Leafa, gave a cry of surprise as she stopped in mid-air, a sudden thought having came to her mid-way. Her actions forced Asuna to do the same as she screamed to a halt as well.

'What's wrong, Leafa-chan?'

'I forgot to bring in the laundry after dinner today! G-Gomen, Asuna-san!'

Panicking that it was nearing 10pm now and was getting late, Leafa asked for a small break, which Asuna agreed to easily. It would not do for her to be discovered by her family with the Nervegear on again, who knows what they'll think.

'Can we log-out here then?'

'E-Erm, no, we'll have to take turns to log-out, c-can I log out first, Asuna-san?'

With Leafa panicking, Asuna tried hard to placate the younger girl even as she took deep breaths to calm herself down.

'I... Oka-san she... doesn't like... nervegears... so even if I'm using the second generation, the AmuSphere, she might get upset. Gomen ne, Asuna-san.'

'Leafa-chan... I told you before, please call me Asuna... and it's fine... My family feels the same, but I locked the door, so... I should be fine. I'll stay as the lookout. Hurry back, Leafa-chan~'

Asuna nodded in understanding even as Leafa nodded, glad that she understood before she pressed the log-out button, and her avatar's head dropped down as though she was asleep.

'Yui-chan~'

'Yes, Mama?'

'Let me spoil you a little, okay?'

Asuna giggled even as she hugged the tiny navigation pixie to her chest, causing the tiny girl to protest before blushing at being held tenderly like that by her mother. Due to the time constraints that the two of them faced when explaining the situation to Leafa, they really didn't have time to speak with each other alone.

Now that they had some privacy, Asuna started filling in Yui with what happened during her few months alone, but before that, she reaffirmed her goal here.

'Mama will find Papa, with Yui-chan's help. So, I promise to help save Papa from the bad guy who was holding him captive, it's a promise, Yui-chan!'

'Mm! Okay, I believe Mama! Let's save Papa!'

* * *

..

'Oka-san!'

Suguha was surprised to see her mother in the living room reading newspapers, but then she turned guilty when she realized that it was quite late, it was around 10.30pm, a time where she should be sleeping, or at least be tucking herself to bed.

It was still a surprise to see her mother though, that meant that she had managed to come home earlier than usual today.

'Hey, Sugu... You're still awake?'

Kirigaya Midori looked up from the newspaper to smile at her younger child, even as she chided her for leaving the laundry outside to draw at night.

'Gomen, I kind of forgot after dinner...'

Suguha scratched her head sheepishly even as she sat down in front of her mother. Suguha didn't know why she did that, but every time she saw her mother, she remembered the sacrifice that she had made so that the two of them could live peacefully without worry. Her dad too, although it was _even _harder to see him around. She would be lucky to see her father once a month at times. It was difficult to raise a household after all, and knowing that, Suguha and Kazuto had became quite independent by themselves, learning how to cook, to prepare breakfast, to do laundry and all the other housework that had kept their home tidy, as well as comfortable despite the lack of adults.

Suguha wouldn't say that she was a very mature person, she was like any child her age, but sometimes her friends would beg to differ on that opinion. Even so, Suguha acted her age when she suddenly asked her mother what she felt about what Asuna.

'Yuki-san? What do you mean about that, Sugu?'

Her mother was surprised, but she was understanding as well for she placed the newspapers to the side to listen to Suguha's worries more closely. Midori had always felt more than a little guilty that perhaps it was her decision, as well as her inability to deal with the fallout of Kazuto finding out that he was adopted that had caused a gap between Kazuto and his sister. They had gotten along so well before then too.

'… I... spoke a lot with Asuna-san today... and I... I'm not sure what I should feel about Asuna-san... I... I know Asuna really likes Onii-chan... but, s-she's... odd too.. I don't understand her. How could she... What does oka-san feel about Asuna?'

Midori had picked up on how Suguha had suddenly dropped the honorifics when talking about Yuki Asuna, a girl who Midori had accepted as someone that was Kazuto-kun's lover.

Even if she really wasn't, Midori would be honestly very disappointed if he did not break the news to her gently. She was terribly in love, and even if she knew that it was not a healthy thing to do over a long time, she was touched by the girls' devotion as well as her belief in her son. She would be happy to give Asuna her blessings, but she understood that Suguha would have difficulty accepting that as well.

Suguha might have thought that she had been hiding it well, but Midori knew that her daughter had quite a crush on him, and since technically they were cousins... Midori always stopped thinking after that, for she knew that it would be... very awkward, too awkward. That was the reason why she had told Suguha the truth when Kazuto had fallen unconscious. She did not want Suguha to do something stupid when Kazuto woke up, it was hard enough for the family to see Kazuto end up in that state, and the last thing she needed was for Suguha to break down as well from the strain.

'Yuki-san, is a person that likes Kazuto-kun... That's all I know.'

'But, Oka-san! S-Surely, it can't be that simple? I... I started knowing Asuna more today, and I kind of … know her better, but... I also know how different she could be... I don't... feel...'

'What do you feel then, Suguha?'

Midori made Suguha stop by reaching out to hold her arm, calming Suguha down even as she bit her lip and confessed that she felt lost, that she felt uneasy, like she simply couldn't understand what was going on, and what she felt now.

'I don't know any more, Oka-san... I don't know whether I should accept Asuna, or should I... try to force them apart, Ka-san... I like her, as well as fear her... Onii-chan he, does he really like Asuna? Is... Does he know how she is like?'

Midori took a moment to contemplate her answer before she spoke softly, telling Suguha that only Kazuto would know the answer.

'Only your brother would know, he was the one who married her after all. And... you trust your brother don't you?'

For some reason, Suguha flinched at her mother's words, even looking guiltier than ever before she nodded her hesitantly.

'Sugu?'

'I... I do, Oka-san. I trust brother... I should have trusted him a long time ago, but I didn't... but now, I will... because, Asuna showed me that if she could, I could too.'

Suguha gave her mother a brave smile even as she herself looked a little confused. Still, it was a good thing and she continued.

'Trust your brother to make the right decision, Sugu. He's a grown man now... he's a hero after all...'

Midori's words made Suguha sit up right before staring at her in utter shock, even as Midori giggled to herself as she leaned back against the couch.

'What is it Sugu, I play games as well, and I do know what you younger generation calls heroes, and heroines... but your brother is a real hero, Sugu. He saved all the people who survived to Sword Art Online incident. Even if he might look weak, and sometimes he might not get along with people, that doesn't change the part that he did save everyone. He's a hero, Sugu, and you should believe in that hero, and what he chose and decided. Your brother, he'll definitely make the right choice.'

* * *

**Author's Notes: Slight filler, I think this chapter is that way**


	9. Between Family

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 9— Between Family**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Alternate updating schedule! Sorry about this! Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

It was a while before Suguha returned, and when she logged on again, Asuna had managed to fill Yui in on what had happened since the logging out of SAO. She hadn't gone into the finer details of all the events as Yui had told Asuna that Kirito had taken her place.

According to Yui, when the logging out sequence happened, another program was attempting to transfer the player's information into another server, Alfheim Online due to the lag-time that happened during the disconnection of the servers, as well as the systematic deletion of the server records.

Her player data had been one of the few that was targeted, but somehow, Kirito-kun had interfered and he had taken her place. It was something that made a lot of sense to Asuna. It was just like Kirito-kun to do something like that, but again, Asuna had to shake herself out of that happy-place and remind her that this was not the time.

It wasn't right to expect Kirito-kun to be able to do everything, he had been stuck in this world for a very long time after all. Especially since she wasn't some sheltered princess that would always need a knight in shining armor. She was the _Flash_ after all!

Even if Asuna acknowledged that it might be a little harder to fight in this world, a world where players were allowed to die, but for him, it might still end up as 'true death'. There was just so much at stake... but there was one advantage that ALO had over SAO and that there was no sword skills. It might seem like a disadvantage, but to the _clearers_, it wasn't always about the sword skills in SAO. Yes, they were extremely useful in normal battles and was mandatory for boss fights, but for all instances, the top-players would rarely use Sword Skills during a duel.

Since sword skills were determined and executed by the system, it was also extremely predictable. The strongest _clearers_ had already developed their own unique style within the game itself, taking advantage of their own experience as well as experimentation to fight as well as they could, with or without sword skills.

That also explained why Asuna was able to take down those armoured knights, for the logarithm that calculated damage was totally different. Even if Asuna might have a much weaker weapon than the knights and she was going against their better armor and all, Asuna was able to overcompensate for that by virtue of her own skill and speed. She was just too fast, striking at all the weak points and doing so at the same place repeatedly, not even letting her enemies be able to defend against her blows.

It made Asuna feel a bit more confident that she would be able to have the skills and the strength to continue in her quest. It would be very troubling if her pace was impeded due to her own inability as a player.

'Ah, you're back, Leafa-chan.'

Asuna gave the younger girl a smile when Leafa moved, stretched and yawned before nodding her head at Asuna.

'It's your turn. I'll keep watch, Asuna.'

Leafa nodded even as she smiled at Asuna sitting down before preparing to log out.

'I'll be in your care, Leafa-chan.'

Asuna remarked cheerfully even as she logged out, her avatar becoming slightly limp in the process.

'… Whew... I'm tired.'

Leafa muttered even as she sat down beside Asuna, before fiddling with the map she had. It would not be too far from the town now, but it would still be a ten minute's flight, she couldn't wait to take a break for real...

'At least I won't need to go to school early tomorrow...'

Suguha commented even as she gave a squeak of surprise when Yui popped up in front of her suddenly.

'Aunt Leafa! Will you speak to Yui?'

'A-Ah... of course.'

If Leafa had told Midori about how her son had a daughter with Asuna, she was sure that it would not be as easily dismissed as before. Still, if even Leafa herself was not able to come to terms with being an aunt, having being told of how Asuna had met with her onii-chan, how would her mother have reacted then if she knew about this? Chances were high that Leafa would not want to know, for it would cause havoc throughout the entire family.

'Mm! Then will Aunt Leafa tell Yui more about herself and Papa? Yui would like to know more about Papa's family!'

The adorable little fairy cheered even as she flew to sit on Leafa's lap, causing her to blink before nodding her head. Yui was too adorable for everyone to _not_ spoil her. Perhaps a part of her knew that as well. Nonetheless, Leafa frowned a little as she wondered where to begin, before deciding that she should at least tell Yui about their family and themselves.

'Yui, since you call Onii-chan Papa, and you are the child of Asuna, that means you are my niece. I'm your aunt, Yui, so you can call me Aunt Leafa, but I would really be happy if you call me Leafa, or Leafa Onee-chan... it wouldn't be nice if someone else overhears you and get the wrong impression.'

'Mm! Kay! Yui will call Aunt Leafa, Leafa Nee-chan then!'

'That's good, Yui, now, you want to know more about about Onii-chan?...'

* * *

..

Asuna had spent several tense minutes calming herself down after she removed the Nervegear from her head. The psychological trauma hadn't been bad, but it was still a challenge to overcome. Asuna knew she was literally bathed in cold sweat for the few tense seconds that she spent struggling with pulling her Nervegear out of her head. What made it harder was how heavy her body seemed to be. It was a phenomenon that she observed not for the first time as her body felt so clunky, so weak, compared to what she felt like in SAO and ALO. But perhaps that was to be expected, she would never reach the level of dexterity or speed that she had achieved in both games.

It was harder than she thought but after wiping her hair from the sweat and taking a few deep breaths, Asuna was ready to take on her mission.

That was, sneaking down to the kitchen to grab a quick bite before returning to finish the last leg of her journey.

'I can do this.'

Asuna told herself before she pushed open her doors softly, before making her way to the kitchen.

..

As Asuna started nibbling on a cold and hard bun that she salvaged from the fridge, she turned and tensed when she heard footsteps walking towards the kitchen as well. With a glass of milk in hand, a half-eaten meat bun in the other, Asuna knew she couldn't run or hide away from the individual, and choose simply to meet him or her face on.

Asuna just did not expect to meet her father as he shuffled into the kitchen, looking just as surprised as she was. With the two of them dressed in casual clothes, Asuna in her pyjamas, and her father in very loose, and long-sleeved clothes, topped off with bedroom slippers that made the sound that Asuna picked up from earlier.

'Ah, good night, Asuna.'

Her father was the one who started the conversation, even as he scratched his head while walking towards the fridge. The two of them had not spoken since the conversation before, and Asuna knew that this was her first chance to mend things between her father.

Besides, with the evidence that she currently had, it would only be a matter of time before she would have to confront her father, Yuuki Shouzou, with the hard truth, that Nobuyuki Sugou was really a slime-ball that did not deserve to be given the position of CEO.

'Father, good night.'

Asuna gave him a small smile even as she continued nibbling on the meat bun slowly. Asuna's non-hostile reaction made her father relax significantly. The blow up between the two of them had been the first argument that Asuna had with her father, in like ever.

Just like how her mother had felt and confessed to him before, he was bewildered but was also proud to see his daughter had grown up from her little 'adventure'. Perhaps 'adventure' wasn't right, that experience was both horrible as well as important to her daughter, he must remind himself of that before he stepped into yet another landmine without knowing. This was going to be very awkward.

Of course, Yuuki Shouzou was also more than upset at how her daughter openly defied him like that. Perhaps he wasn't the best father that Asuna had, and perhaps he should have been more considerate, but Asuna's actions and the way she had just dismissed what they were discussing without even giving room for negotiations was totally unacceptable.

Even if Shouzou knew that her daughter had all the rights in the world to have her own opinion, her actions just proved to him and everyone else that she was being unreasonable, and being quite childish in insisting on her way without even explaining to him why she was so against the idea in the first place.

'Asuna.'

But he was a father first and foremost, and if his daughter had found her reason to be so important that she would rather blow up at her father instead of complying, he must give her the benefit of the doubt, even if its just once.

'Yes, father?'

Asuna answered even as she started to wash up, tossing the paper wrapping of the bun into the waste bin before turning to meet him. Shouzou wasn't surprised to see that Asuna looked quite tired, probably a result of spending the night looking over Kirigaya Kazuto-kun again.

'You spent the night with Kirigaya-kun again, didn't you?'

'Yes I did.'

Shouzou gave her daughter a relieved smile even as he said that he had expected that.

'I'm... sorry for what I said earlier.'

Shouzou carried on after taking a sip from the glass of water he had wanted to get, not even checking whether Asuna wanted to interrupter or to say something about the topic.

'In the end, even if I kept on telling myself that my daughter has grown up, that my daughter has the right to make her own decisions, I'm still making decisions for her instead. You do love Kirigaya-kun don't you, Asuna?'

It wasn't a question, it was just a confirmation of her daughter's wishes, and Shouzou wasn't surprised when Asuna nodded her head in confirmation.

'Yes, father, I... thought you recognized and had acknowledged us a long time ago.'

So to Asuna, it was indeed his fault then. Shouzou felt both embarrassed and ashamed that it had ended up exactly like what he had feared, and also apologized for a few moments ago. He had not even thought of consulting her daughter regarding a decision that would no doubt affected her entire life's happiness and future. What a callous father he was indeed.

'I thought I did too, but apparently I didn't. When Noboyuki asked us about it, I guess your father and mother simply thought it was the best thing that could ever happen to you. Asuna, Noboyuki is the future CEO of Recto Progress after all. To the two of us, there is no one else who is more suitable to be with you. He will definitely be a good candidate for someone who wanted my daughter's hands.'

Shouzou spoke calmly even as Asuna turned to look at him, there was no doubt at all that her daughter disliked Noboyuki Sugou. It just didn't make sense for her to feel that way towards him, perhaps that would be a trend that would befall any individual that was not Kirigaya-kun? Yuuki Shouzou had no choice but at to acknowledge as well as marvel at his daughter's dedication and loyalty to Kirigaya Kazuto.

'I will never accept Noboyuki, never, him, and no one else. I'm already married to Kirito-kun, father, and that's final. My feelings for him would never change no matter what.'

Asuna replied stubbornly, but this time Shouzou never flared up, he instead looked resigned as he chuckled slightly.

'That was the reply that I was expecting, Asuna.'

'F-Father?'

He was relieved as well as happy to see Asuna looking back bewilderedly, her feelings no doubt a mixture of confusion and relief when he continued, saying that he understood now.

'We shouldn't force you into the biggest decision of your life, Asuna, would you forgive your father for wanting to be the best parent then? We'll discuss about this again soon when I calm your mother down. You really made her mad this time, Asuna.'

'A-Ahhh? Uhmm...'

Shouzou reached out to pet his daughter's head, a gesture that Asuna received gratefully as she squirmed under his gentle ministrations.

'I'll forgive you this time because you're always tried to be the best daughter for us, you're our darling daughter no matter what, Asuna. And never forget that all I expect you to do, is to be happy.'

Shouzou stopped petting Asuna's head even as he gave her the widest smile she had seen in like, ever.

'You're happiest with Kirigaya-kun, aren't you, Asuna?'

'Mm... Yes, father! I want to be with no one else but him!'

* * *

..

Asuna was feeling extremely exhilarated, but at the same time was feeling complicated at what she had told her father before she had excused herself.

_'Father, could we... talk about Noboyuki-san... tomorrow? There's something that I would want to let you listen to. Only you, father. I want you to hear this.'_

_'Asuna?'_

_'I know father you believe him, and think that it was because of Kirito-kun that I dislike him. But... this is important, so please, could we talk tomorrow? As soon as possible?'_

_It took a while, for Asuna knew that her father was no doubt trying to fish for more information by reading her facial cues. In the end however, he had nodded and said that he would free his schedule to speak to her tomorrow._

Everything was turning out to be just like what she had expected it and wanted it to be. It was similar to having drawn into a flush from the get go in blackjack, but Asuna knew that just like how it wasn't over in the first round.

Everything was for naught if she didn't find Kirito-kun in ALO after all.

..

'Ah, welcome back, Asuna-san.'

Suguha, no, Leafa, gave her a big smile in greeting even as she stretched a little due to the large difference between her body in real life and her character in ALO.

'I'm back, Leafa-chan, Yui-chan. Did anything happen?'

Asuna was about to ask before Yui interrupted, her tiny fairy body waving on Leafa's shoulders before she fly back to rejoin her mother. Leafa for her party was all smiles as she reported that nothing happened during her absence.

'Mama, Leafa Nee-chan told me all about what Papa was like! Papa he, was really funny when he's younger, neh, Leafa Nee-chan~~'

Yui was all smiles and she giggled along with Leafa even as the two of them nodded their heads together in the same time.

Whatever the two of them had shared together must be quite embarrassing for Kirito-kun and Asuna found herself pouting even as she puffed her cheeks out in annoyance as well as jealousy.

'Ehhh, that's not fair! What did you tell Yui-chan that you didn't tell me, Leafa-chan!'

'Mm mm~~ I wonder about that, Asuna-san~~ Onii-chan should have already told you all his embarrassing stuff by now? It's not my fault if he didn't~~'

Leafa teased Asuna back happily even as she made a shushing gesture towards Yui, who nodded mischievously as she cupped her hands over her mouth stubbornly as well.

'Ehh? Yui-chan! You wouldn't hide things from Mama would you?'

Even as Asuna started to pout at her daughter instead, she was unable to catch Leafa, who took off suddenly into the skies in that small window of opportunity after seeing Yui hurriedly diving into her poket.

'I'll be leaving you behind if you don't hurry up, Asuna-san~'

Leafa giggled as she took off, causing Asuna to cry out in astonishment before shaking her head ruefully, telling herself that it was a good thing that her daughter as well as her sister-in-law had bonded well, too well in fact. A part of her was jealous as there was no doubt that the two of them had started treating her to be much older than the two of them, and didn't want to allow her into the gossiping cycle.

'T-That's unfair, Leafa-chan, Yui-chan!'

Asuna stamped her feet childishly on the grass before she took off as well, pumping all she had into her wings as she chased after Leafa.

* * *

..

'Mm, we're here, in Sylvian! We'll be able to head towards Yggdrasil tomorrow proper then.'

Leafa announced even as they landed in the town together with Asuna. The small bonding session she had with Yui was so much fun and it reassured her that her Onii-chan's 'daughter' was so easy to get along with. The same thing could be said with his 'wife' as well, and Leafa/Suguha found herself much more accepting of the two of them as they continued to converse with each other even as they landed.

Leafa now knew that Asuna was a very stubborn individual, a trait that she shared with her big brother for she had not given up trying to persuade Yui to spill the beans about all those embarrassing things that she had shared with her neice.

Leafa too had came out of that gossiping session with more ammunition as well to use against her Onii-chan, whoever knew that her Onii-chan was still drooling on his bed even at this age.

'Ah mou... Asuna-san, Yui-chan! We'll have to go now, it's getting late!'

Leafa walked over to pull Asuna's hands before guiding them along the complicated walkways of Sylvian. The town was one of the neutral towns in the Sylph territory, and it was the perfect place to set off from towards Yggdrasil. They'll have to navigate through an underground dungeon and various other obstacles before they could get close to Yggdrasil, but she was certain that they'll be seeing Yggdrasil tomorrow then.

'T-That's right, we'll continue this tomorrow, Yui-chan. Mama wants to know!'

Asuna continued waving a finger at the stubborn Yui stubbornly, now who was the stubborn one and who was the kid then?

Leafa gave a long suffering sigh even as they headed towards a local inn that she had frequented a few times in the past.

'We'll have to log out in an inn, or in a building actually. So let's do that in this Inn, Asuna-san. When... should we meet tomorrow then? I have kendo practise in the morning, but any time after that is fine.'

Leafa suggested even as they entered the inn, Asuna bowing to the NPCs before she realized what she was doing. Yui on the other hand, had hidden herself into Asuna's pocket the moment they had entered into a more densely populated area. There were a couple of thousand players of ALO after all, and it wouldn't be good if they made a scene or simply attracted attention due to Yui.

Both Leafa and Asuna didn't realize it, but the two of them were very striking by themselves. Leafa's avatar was that of a beautiful long blonde-haired Sylph warrior, and coupled with a figure that matching the figure that she had in real life meant that she was a very attractive individual in the game. Asuna was no slouch herself, and even if her avatar wasn't that striking due to her having the more common green hair that she had braided to match her own hair-style as well, it was still an unnatural shade for it was lighter than usual, similar to blue-green in the right light. Her figure too was similar to what she had saved in the Nervegear and together with the confident way in with she carried herself, she was just as attractive as Leafa.

So in hindsight, if the two of them were trying _not_ to make a scene, they were failing terribly, even if they hadn't realize it at this time.

'I have to speak to my dad regarding what we overheard, Leafa-chan... So I wouldn't know when I could be free... How about we change mail addresses? I'll login to ALO as soon as I can after I speak to my father.'

Asuna clapped her hands together in a begging manner even as Leafa frowned, telling her that she shouldn't do that to her.

'It's Asuna-san that I have to thank... Asuna-san would do anything for Onii-chan neh? So, it's me who is in your debt, Asuna-san.'

'Leafa-chan...'

Asuna shook her head as she said that it was probably her fault that Kirito-kun was stuck in ALO, and by default, it was her fault anyway!

'Even so, Onii-chan would definitely, _definitely_ do the same for Asuna-san.'

Leafa answered confidently, and it was something that Asuna agreed on as she couldn't help but give a resigned sigh in answer.

'That's true, isn't it? Kirito-kun has always been like that... he might even try to do things by himself if he could, Kirito-kun can be the densest person in the world...'

Asuna admitted as well, causing Leafa to give a giggle of her own before she closed her eyes slightly while teasing Asuna again.

'Asuna-san is willing to ask for help, that's much better than Onii-chan would do. I'll be in your care tomorrow, Asuna-san, let's work together!'

Leafa was definitely in high spirits today as the two of them entered the inn together.

* * *

..

Elsewhere, in a dungeon deep within the roots of Yggdrasil itself, a lone swordsman fought tirelessly, endlessly as his dual blades flashed in the darkness.

The monsters around him died in the dozens, dispatched by his skill in his blades. The lone swordsman wiped away the sweat that he had accumulated below his chin after sheathing his sword.

'…'

He had given up speaking, or didn't find it necessary for he knew that in the next corner would be yet another mob of monsters that was trying to have his life. It wouldn't be fair to keep them waiting, would it?

The dual swordsman continued on his path, trying to find a way out of this endless maze by himself.

* * *

**Date line: 6 Days left!**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Even as the author of the story, I must admit that the suspension of belief here is totally not here.**

**I doubt Asuna's dad would really be so forgiving, but I needed a contrast with the mother, Asian societies doesn't really like the young going against their elders. The saying: 'Youth should be seen not heard' comes to mine, but I'm handwaving it as I'm more liberal myself.**

**Secondly, it is also not that easy to stomach how Suguha can accept Yui so easily, she's her /neice/ from an apparently unapproved marriage. But again, handwave a little due to how she had time to come to terms with it with her mother. Lastly, who wouldn't like Yui? These are my comments for this chapter.. but I won't want to change them as it'll be dragging it out alot. My apologies.**


	10. One Foot Forward

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 10— One Foot Forward**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

Yuuki Shouzou, the CEO of Recto Progress found himself listening to something that he could never have dreamed off. As the CEO of a very successful organization, he prided himself in being able a good judge of character while being impartial, far as well as to never betray his own personal values of being fair, patient, as well as understanding to everyone and anyone who raised an issue to him.

But even he was caught flat-footed by what his daughter had produced and placed to him in absolute privacy and confidentiality in his own office. Even if Shouzou's first and initial reaction was utter denial that Nobuyuki Sugou could be such an individual, even going to the lengths to blackmail and threaten his daughter, he suppressed those feelings for more practical ones, like reaffirming that the tape was not doctored, or fabricated in order to get out of marrying Nobuyuki Sugou.

Shouzou had his doubts on that, he knew his daughter well and she was an individual just as stubbornly noble like how his fellow friends, rivals and admirers in the top management had called him. His daughter, Yuuki Asuna would not resort to underhanded means to discredit someone that she disliked, especially since she had already plainly shown her dislike of him.

'… You did not create this tape to implicate Nobuyuki-kun to get out of the engagement, did you, Asuna?'

His tone was controlled as he smoothed his expression to one that he wore while conducting official business, and it seemed that her daughter could sense the not-so-subtle shift in her father's attitude and personality for Asuna had adjusted herself as well, her back was now up straight and she was meeting his eyes firmly with no signs of wavering. Even if it was rude to do meet the eyes of a superior in the eyes in the eastern cultural norms, he had always stressed to his family that they should never back away from their own convictions and should never question themselves if they were right.

He was heartened that his lessons had been driven home to Asuna as his daughter shook her head to his question.

'It happened exactly like how the conversation detailed it did. I was visiting Kirito-kun last night when I found him visiting Kirito-kun as well. The rest... I don't like it father, I know he's saying the truth and he's keeping Kirito-kun from waking up somehow.'

Unfortunately for Asuna, Shouzou had very little technical knowledge and know-how on the 'full-dive' technology that had been developed by Kayaba Akihiko and was maintained by Nobuyuki Sugou, and as such was unable to immediately verify his claims.

'Regardless of whether it is the truth or not, does not matter now. What matters to me now is what you are planning to do about this, Asuna. At the very least, the tape is suggesting that Nobuyuki-kun is blackmailing you to marry him. It is something that I cannot condone, both as a person as well as your parent.'

'You believe me, don't you, father?'

Asuna smiled in relief for a second but when she saw that her father was still wearing the same grim expression on his face as he ran through the facts in his head.

'Even if I do, Asuna, there are several very serious charges that was hinted throughout the entire conversation. … Even if you do wish for us to take action, it would take time for us to gather the evidence needed to firm a case against Nobuyuki-kun.'

'B-But, why? He all but admitted to me that he was behind all of it!'

Asuna had stood up in her panic, or perhaps in disbelief and Shouzou was about to ask Asuna to calm down when he noticed that she was already doing just that, swallowing her anger and sitting down again. Shouzou felt a sense of warmth grow within his chest at seeing first hand how much his daughter had grown.

'That might appear so, however all of this is circumstantial. And as it is circumstantial, we would only have both yours and his testimonials to judge and compare against. And honestly, Asuna, from the way you treated Nobuyuki-kun... you are in the disadvantage. I am your father, and I trust you when you answered my question earlier. However, that might not be the case for those who would be investigating this case. You have a stronger motive to implicate Nobuyuki-kun, and as the 'Full-Dive' technology that is being contested is under the control of Nobuyuki-kun, any case or action that is taken against him would have to be strong enough to ensure that he is arrested or taken into custody before he could act on those threats that was detailed in the conversation.'

Asuna's father's words were similar to what Agil-san had told Asuna, and she found herself shivering in disbelief at how it had all turned out for naught in the end. That was enough to cause her to have some doubt in her heart before she looked up to see her father still staring at her intensively.

..

Asuna had seen her father talk-shop a few times when he was visited by some of his fellow partners in their home, and in those few occasions, she had seen a totally different side from the gentle and soft-spoken person that she associated with.

Her father was in a very high position in the organisation, and befitting of his position, he commanded both the authority, the knowledge as well as the determination, ability and courage to translate intent into action and then results.

Her father was challenging, and asking Asuna whether she was a chip off the old block, whether she had the same intent he could muster when he set his mind out to do what he had set out to accomplish, turning intent into real results.

Of course she did, she had already promised Suguha as well as her fellow clearers in SAO that she did not want any regrets, that she did not want to remember that she had backed down and had fallen prey to her own fear when it was obviously the time to act.

'Asuna. I believe you. But this is a hard battle, both for you and for me. Do you still want to start it, or rather... do you want to participate in it? I, no, we can take over from here as well.'

The chance of failure was quite high, and even if Asuna was hedging a lot of that risks by taking as many precautions that she could, it was also true that there were elements that were totally out of her control, and that was not even considering the cards in Sugou's hands as well.

He was the dealer, and even if he had slipped up and revealed a few cards by his reckless flaunting, that didn't mean that Asuna's cards were any better than his.

In fact, she couldn't even reveal any of his cards... or perhaps he had already seen the cards in her hands, thus his confidence when showing his own. There were many scenarios that Agil-san and Thinker-san had detailed before, the same scenarios that had obviously been considered by her father.

Hence him suggesting that she step away from this now, and let him handle everything for her. It was a tempting offer, one that might solve all of her problems, but at the same time...

'Father, please lend me your strength. I... would want to start this battle, and I would be participating it... Please support me as best as you could, father. There are things that only I can do with my friends, and there are things that father could do that could help us. We... I, want to end it in our own terms. I told father that Sword Art Online was not a game, it is something that is very precious to all of us, the players who were trapped into it... and...'

There was a pause as Asuna took a deep breath before smiling at her father confidently, causing him to blink a few times in surprise at the faith Asuna had in herself.

'Its not over till everyone is back. Even if it's only one person, Sugou-san is still trampling on our memories, suffering, happiness and everything else about Sword Art Online that made everyone who they were after Sword Art Online. So please, father, help us, but do not leave us out!'

* * *

..

Kirigaya Suguha wiped the sweat off her forehead as she removed the protective headgear she had been wearing for her Kendo practise while trying to cool down.

It hadn't been a good practise session, but it hadn't been a bad one either. Suguha was embarrassed to admit that when she started practise, her thoughts had wandered to how she had seen Asuna fight against the Salamander troops the night before. Suguha was not embarrassed at all to admit that the way she handled combat been absolutely stunning and beautiful.

As compared to her own style which was more focused on practicality as well as set patterns rather than the loose and unpredictable style that she had seen, Suguha was unsure whether she should be jealous of Asuna for being able to execute her attacks with such flair and devastation even if she never trained in any kinds of sword form, or to applaud her natural talent at sword play.

That moment of conflict was enough for her to lose focus and to be chewed out by her instructor for not gathering her focus in practise today.

But when she had re-focused herself, she found herself imagining that Asuna was in front of her, her rapier held in front of her in a challenging moment even as Suguha swung her sword in front of her in the same practised patterns that she was focusing on today. Suguha was proud of her accomplishments in ALO, she was no doubt one of the fastest of the entire Sylph race, and had very good results in the various competitions that she had participated in ALO.

There was no surprise that what she learnt in Kendo had been liberally utilized in ALO as well, even if it swinging swords on firm ground and fighting in the air was a totally different thing altogether. Like Asuna, Suguha preferred to end and start duels on firm ground, but through experience, she had gotten much better in fighting in air as well. Choosing Sylph as her race was a good choice as well as the race specialized more in speed rather than all out attacks like the Salamanders or the magically focused Undine Races. That said, Suguha had learnt spells that were more focused on support rather than the offensive that was available to the Sylphs. The Sylphs may have considerable weaker magical attack potential than the Salamanders and have weaker healing potential than their Undine counterparts, but it was also true that the Sylphs had both of those capabilities and was the best in raising parameters of their own stats magically speaking.

'Good job today, Suguha.'

One of her kendo mates gave her a tired smile even as she slunk off towards the showers to bathe, leaving Suguha to her own thoughts as she wondered what did she really feel about Asuna. It was very very conflicting indeed.

* * *

..

'Good afternoon, Leafa-chan~'

Apparently the matter that Asuna had to confront her father with had ended earlier than she had expected, and Asuna had called Suguha almost immediately after that to arrange a time for them to meet.

Unfortunately, she had been besieged by Recon or Nagata Shinichi, her classmate who had wanted to know whether they'll be partying today in ALO as well. Suguha didn't really dislike Recon, but at times his inability to stand up for himself made her feel a little frustrated when he was speaking with her. Then again, she was also conscious that perhaps her time in the Kendo club did make her look more than intimidating when she starts lecturing others. A trait that might have double the effect on Shinichi, which was kind of ironic since he had been the one who was her mentor until she had surpassed him in ALO.

Suguha had been a little worried that he would be upset or bitter at her about that, but as he hadn't seemed to mind, and he was still more knowledgeable about dungeons and monsters due to him being one of the best in tracking and scouting in the entire Sylph race, she still frequently teamed up with him in ALO.

However this time Shinichi was less inviting and more 'asking' her presence in the team that had been created by Sigurd, the assistant of Sylph Race Lord, to train and hunt monsters together. The dream of all players in ALO was to scale Yggdrasil and to change their entire race to Astrals, allowing them have unlimited flying time. Flying wasn't unique to VRMMORPGs, but ALO had the best interface and the best system to enjoy flying. The only cons of the system was the limited flying time for all the races and players, and this would be remedied by climbing Yggdrasil and seeking an audience with the Fairy King to turn them all into the Astral Race.

Leafa was one of those players who would die to do that as she loved the sensation of flying and was more than happy to party with people to try and get better to further those goals. However, in this case, the assistant lord, Sigurd, had more or less strong-armed her into the party to challenge the harder dungeons in ALO. Leafa normally wouldn't mind, but she did dislike how he liked to behave as though she belonged to him, ordering her like a subordinate instead of a team-mate.

This had led to her reminding him repeatedly that she had _defeated_him in a few of the Sylph Fighting tournaments, the painful reminder enough to cause him to stop ordering her around for a short while.

In short, Leafa really didn't like teaming up with Sigurd, and she only agreed to do so due to political pressure. She had also made it clear to him that she would only join up if she was free to leave and go as and when she wanted, she had other friends to play with in ALO after all.

Apparently what was agreed on fell on deaf ears and she had to explain to Recon that she was going to party with Asuna instead to head to Yggdrasil before losing him on the way back home.

..

'Good afternoon, Leafa nee-chan~'

Yui popped her head out from the pocket she was hiding in before flying towards Leafa with a happy smile. Asuna had logged in earlier and had taken some time to actually go around the place, checking the equipment and getting a few spares and extras for her own use before Leafa logged on herself.

Yui had been very happy to meet her Mama, and they had spent quite an enjoyable time chatting with each other during her little shopping spree, much to the confusion of the many people who thought she was speaking to herself out loud. But Asuna really didn't care at this point.

Her shopping spree had ended up with her wearing a played crafted set of one piece armor that was similar in design to the one she had worn in SAO. Although it was one that was decorated with white with black markings instead of white and red, Asuna was also able to accept it more as in her a burst of romantic fanaticism, she was able to picture it as a bond that she shared with Kirito.

She had always been dressed predominantly in white after all, and if Kirito-kun was in black... this new armor's design was totally fitting to their relationship!

Now to get Kirito a matching set with black and white markings instead!

'Ah, Yui-chan~ Good afternoon~'

Leafa smiled happily at her niece, or perhaps her little sister as she waved at Asuna cheerfully as well. Leafa did take note of how Asuna's shopping trip went and smiled appreciatively when Asuna quipped that she had upgraded her armors and weapons to the best of her ability.

'I wasn't sure whether I'll get ripped off, but this armor is just perfect! So I had to get it!'

Asuna had sparkles in her eyes even as she spun around to show off her clothes, making Leafa giggle as she nodded in understanding.

'Well, customization has always been something that all players love to dabble in. I took a while before I decided on mine though.'

Leafa thoughtfully mentioned even as she held her long skirt up a little, looking at it fondly while Yui commented that the two of them were very beautiful.

'Aww, thank you, Yui-chan~ Mama will buy you some sweets later on, okay? Even better, I'll make sandwiches if I can borrow a kitchen.'

Asuna beamed at her daughter even as Leafa blushed as well, looking a little self conscious before shaking her head and grinning as well.

'Well, with maxed cooking skills, I guess no one could beat Asuna-san in the kitchen~'

'Mm! Papa always drools when waiting for Mama to cook too!'

'Ohh~ I wish I could see that!'

'Haha~ The way to Kirito-kun's heart could lie in his stomach after all. But I won't relinquish that title so easily!'

Asuna pumped a hand into the air, looking and enjoying herself in the game as though nothing was wrong even if the clock was still ticking down.

* * *

...

Asuna had not been idle after the meeting with her father, after she had gotten his cooperation and his aid in the matter, where he would start internal investigations, Asuna had contacted the rest as well through the forum that they had set-up in MMO Today.

They weren't allowed, or rather, it was silly of them to announce their intentions so openly to everyone. To do so would not only jeopardize the entire operation but also cause negative publicity for MMO Today as well, so they had all agreed on a few selected code-words when speaking about topics in the new sub-forum that was created within the forums of MMO Today.

Asuna had created a new thread detailing that she had started on another 'avenue' with another 'party' and was conducting a 'raid' with different methods in the game just today. The people who were in the know would be able to pick up on what Asuna had set about to do today and to give their comments on the way forward as well.

Asuna had also been heartened to see that thread dedicated to the mystery dungeon in the roots of Yggdrasil had became quite active, and there had been many comments and tips from players who were not part of the group in the thread as well, there were those who were commenting to wish them luck while others to simply ask if they could help as well.

Things were moving on, even if it's slowly, but they were indeed moving on.

'Let's go, Asuna-san. If we set off now, we might even be able to reach Lugloo before dinner. We could have a look around the equipment there as well, Asuna-san.'

Leafa spoke casually even as the two of them made their way to the tower, which would help the take off for the long-distance flight. Apparently their destination was quite some distance away and it would be best to take of from high ground to shave some time off the ascent.

'Oohh... Right, I'm not that used to flying after all. Gomen neh, Leafa-chan.'

'Coming from an individual who could keep up with me going full out all the time, Asuna-san, that's not convincing at all.'

Leafa pouted even as Asuna shook her head, admitting that she still had difficulty landing after all.

'Ah, well, we can work on that later on again.'

Leafa laughed cheerfully while scratching her head, dismissing a worried Asuna's concerns even as they entered the tower. The tower itself was packed with people, and Asuna was a little disappointed when Yui hid herself into Leafa's pocket to hide herself even as she unconsciously started to walk nearer to Leafa.

It was something that she only did when she sensed that she was being watched constantly, and like before, it wasn't that hard to see why they were quite attention grabbing.

Two very beautiful female players going on a party together by themselves was quite rare after all, and one of them being one of the winners of the Sylph Fighting Tournament meant that she was already used to it. Asuna however, wasn't as comfortable due to the new surroundings as well as the curious looks that the players were shooting her.

Asuna didn't even notice when she started schooling her expression to something similar to what she wore as the deputy commander of the Knights of the Blood.

..

'There's the place~'

Leafa replied cheerfully even as she tugged Asuna towards the elevator, only for her to pause and wince when she heard another voice calling out to her.

'Leafa.'

It was Sigurd, and she pressed down the frown on her face even as she turned to greet him politely.

'Sigurd-san, good afternoon.'

The tall Sylph player nodded in acknowledgment even as Leafa turned to look at him advancing towards them with two other members, members which Leafa remembered to be his lackeys for they obeyed his every command.

'Is it true that you'll be leaving the party?'

'Yeah, I'll be doing that.'

Leafa answered evenly as Asuna tried to wrap her mind around the situation here. When they had met up together, the first thing Leafa had did was to ask Asuna to join her party, apparently quitting her other one in a jiffy. There were times when she had simply ignored messages or calls from other players up till now. Asuna frowned at that, was Leafa really ignoring her friends to party with her and help her?

Then again, Asuna also reasoned that it was probably not the case. Leafa was a nice girl, and well, she couldn't imagine a nice girl like Leafa/Suguha, to not be popular amongst her friends. Asuna trusted that Leafa if she could, she would have tried to explain the situation to them and not just simply ignore them when they called or messaged her.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that Asuna was once also female player who had been aggressively courted by guilds or players alike for both her strength and her beauty. Leafa/Suguha had both of that, and Asuna frowned even more when the conversation got even more heated up.

'Did it even occur to you that it might cause trouble for the other members?'

'You did promise me that I could participate at my convenience and leave whenever I wanted, didn't you?'

Leaf explained evenly even as Yui popped her head out of Leafa's pocket, the conversation no doubt agitating Leafa even as Asuna walked closer to her, even subtly squeezing her hand behind her back calm her down.

'But everyone knows that you're a member of my party and won't invite you to join theirs. We did finalize this with Sakuya-san, didn't we?'

Sigurd gave a stern glare to Leafa that she returned, all the while Asuna was looking from one party to another helplessly. She was also glad that she wasn't being targeted due to this, but was also slightly disappointed, if she had been targeted, she might be able to defuse this situation. Well, maybe anyway.

'It'll also affect my reputation if you just leave on a whim, Leafa.'

Asuna tensed when Leafa expressed a complicated expression on her face, but honestly, Asuna had enough. Perhaps there were things going on that she didn't quite understand. Politics were, well, politics and were extremely hard to keep track off. Not to mention super complex and could be the most dangerous in the world, even more so than a sword at the back.

But regardless of what agreement had been made that caused Leafa to look so conflicted, Asuna didn't care. For he had said something that was utterly selfish to Asuna, and to Kirito-kun as well. She should know, for the two of them had hammered the same sentiments into each other with different words, but similar feelings.

'That's being selfish of you, Sigurd-san.'

Asuna spoke up calmly, her eyes hardening even as Leafa started at her sudden interruption.

'If you are only concerned about your reputation, then I'm glad that I asked Leafa to party with me for a short while. With an attitude like that, you'll never earn the respect of those who are following you.'

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you, for all of your support that you have given me so far! Really, thank you!**


	11. Butting Heads

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 11— Butting Heads**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: The Alternate title would be: 'A Legend Once Again', but I'm saving that.**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta and the support for such a long time.**

* * *

..

'If you are only concerned about your reputation, then I'm glad that I asked Leafa to party with me for a short while. With an attitude like that, you'll never earn the respect of those who are following you.'

Asuna's words caused Leafa to freeze in shock and even if she was aware that Yui was pumping her hands in support of her inside her pocket, Leafa just stood there dumbly as Asuna defended her. She couldn't react to it for she found herself a little mesmerized at how captivating Asuna looked as she glared back at Sigurd, one of her hands still holding hers as she stood in front of Leafa defiantly.

'What... did you say?'

Sigurd finally took his eyes off her and into Asuna instead, the stern and larger Sylph looking first disinterested and then a little annoyed as he demanded, or perhaps challenged Asuna to repeat what she said.

'I believe I made myself clear earlier, but to reiterate myself. I am saying that I am disappointed in how you, as a leader, is more concerned about your own reputation than the feelings of your fellow allies, team mates and comrades.'

Asuna replied calmly, looking almost disinterested as Sigurd's face changed. Despite Asuna being polite, even smiling at Sigurd while repeating herself, there was no doubt that Asuna was tramping on Sigurd's pride and reputation even more than what Leafa apparently did.

'Who are you? Are you a new player? I've never even seen you around. Newbies shouldn't take advantage of their status to get others to help them.'

Sigurd finally managed to spat out, his hands already on the hilt of his sword before he calmed himself down with extreme difficulty. Asuna had to give him a little bit of credit for being able to do that, but she supposed that she could dislike him even more because of that.

Even if Asuna were still using basic equipment like the low leveled rapier and a low-leveled player crafted armor, that was no reason for him to try and insult and dismiss her like she was a newbie.

In fact, if she had to argue, it was precisely because she was a newbie that the experienced players shouldn't dismiss them. It's only natural for they to seek advice, and even if they were unable to help them, as fellow players, they must still respect each other! If one forgot about that, like how the [Laughing Coffin] guild or the [Titan's Hand] guild behaved, they had lost touch with humanity.

Sigurd tried to do just that however, walking forward and even trying to grab Leafa's hands to pull her away from Asuna, only to stop when Asuna blocked his path and his outstretched hand.

'What are you doing, newbie? Give way.'

'I refuse. You have no right or authority to force me to do that.'

'Do you know who I am?'

'I have no interest in who you are, what you came from, and what you feel about this situation. All I am interested in is how to publicize you making a fool of yourself in the middle of the tower.'

As expected of the sub-leader of the Knights of the Blood, Asuna wasn't just in charge of planning raids on bosses, she was also an active player in the player politics that tended to occur between large guilds in the clearer group. Asuna didn't display most of those traits simply because she disliked it, but if her father was to see her now, he would definitely be proud.

'Shut up! I'm the second in command to the Sylph Lord, Sakuya-san herself. I can declare you as a renegade for disobeying orders. Now step aside and stop pestering Leafa with your demands.'

Sigurd snarled but Asuna never moved, her eyes only growing harder as she shook her head slowly, expressing her refusal to his outrageous offer.

'Like I mentioned before, I refuse, Assistant Lord or no, you are clearly trying to use your authority and power to cow a new player in the game, is such blatant abuse of power allowed in the game itself? I wonder what the Sylph Lord herself would say if she found out about this.'

As Asuna was a member of the Sylph race as well, there's no way that her demands or her complaint would be fully ignored, especially if Sigurd was fond of doing this.

..

Asuna's words seemed to give Leafa courage or at least to snap her out of her funk as she spoke up as well.

'Don't be rude, Sigurd-san, Asuna-san is my new partner. I trust her, and she is not bothering me. I _choose _to help her.'

Leafa announced to Sigurd, causing him to start a little even as Asuna gave her a proud smile in standing up like that.

'Leafa, don't tell me you are abandoning the agreement that we all made with Sakuya-san? Are you turning back on the alliance made between all of us to work together to clear the game? You are defying the orders of the Sylph Lord, Leafa!'

Sigurd's words was confusing to Asuna, but from the way the same complicated expression appeared on her face, it was a big deal. Asuna wasn't able to think much on that line of thought as Sigurd tried to reach for her collar as he raised his voice.

'And you! Did you seek out Leafa on purpose to instil discord amongst our ranks? You must be a spy! Who hired you, the is it the Spriggans? Or was it the Gnomes? Answer me!'

At least, he tried to as Asuna simply jumped back, pulling Leafa with her as Sigurd's lunge came up empty. With a bigger distance between the two of them, Asuna dusted herself off before placing a hand on her hip while glaring at Sigurd.

'If that happened in real life, you'll be in custody right now. How could a male player try to touch a female player in that manner? I'm no spy, and I asked the Leafa-chan for help out in the forests, which she kindly agreed to do so. Regardless of the orders, players are supposed to be free to do what they want, it is Leafa-chan's choice to make. Leafa-chan... would you want to return to Sigurd-san's party?'

Asuna asked her calmly even as she fingered the pommel of her rapier cautiously as well, if need be, they might have to fight their way out of here.

'… No, I wish to help Asuna-san. I've promised to do that, and besides, Asuna-san helped me when I was ambushed by the Salamanders. I should return the favor.'

It took a while but Leafa definitely voiced out her own wishes, this time more confidently as she held Asuna's hands as well. This was enough to probably cause a blood vessel to burst in Sigurd's forehead as he unsheathed his sword in a practiced fashion to threaten the two of them with it.

Asuna wasn't really impressed, she had fought the _Gleam Eyes_ face to face after all, and compared to that, a pissed off swordsman was nothing. That and she was present when Kirito fought the commander before, that was terrifying as well.

'… I was going to ignore you for your insolence since you are obviously a newbie! But I cannot overlook a thief. I do not know who you are, or who you claim to be. But nothing can save you now... let me show you what is the difference between a newbie and one that is experienced!'

Probably in a fit of rage, Sigurd started fiddling with his interface even as Leafa paled, the younger girl trying to interrupt when Asuna shook her head, a terrifying grin on her face as she tightened the grip on the pommel of her rapier.

'Okay.'

Asuna answered cheerfully even as the window for a duel popped up in front of her.

'Hmph, I will not hold back, even if you are a girl, you thief.'

'… People are not equipment, friends are not equipment... I can't steal anything that I don't possess. Since you view people as things, I would be more than happy to show you what separates us.'

Asuna gave a very confident smile even as Leafa started groaning in annoyance instead of feeling afraid or intimidated. It was an odd feeling, seeing how she had been a cowed earlier on, but Asuna's words were right, and Leafa had faith in her that she would do just fine. He was defeated by her quite easily after all but so much for not making a scene.

'Yui-chan... is Asuna-san always like this?'

'Uh... Uh... Its normally Papa who gets into situations like this... At least, I think so. But Mama was very mad that time that someone bullied some children.'

Yui whispered back quietly as Leafa released her to sit on her shoulder instead.

'Ahh... I thought as much. But wait, aren't you a child as well?'

Leafa had to stop the urge to facepalm even as Asuna and Sigurd left the tower together to start the duel.

* * *

..

'As I'm a newbie, would you be giving me any handicaps?'

Asuna asked in a conversational tone as she studied Sigurd and his preferred stance and choice of weapons. She wasn't bothered, but she would like to squeeze a little bit more out of him to teach him a lesson.

'Hmph, are you afraid now? I guess I could offer you a handicap or two, seeing that it would be over in an instant.'

Sigurd had returned to his haughty ways after calming down a little, the two of them standing in the plaza in front of the tower even as Asuna shook her head in negative.

'No, no, that's not it! I mean, it's precisely because I'm a girl that you have to go all out, I wouldn't want you to give an excuse that you were holding back because I'm a girl. No, no, what I meant was that could we settle this on the ground, and spare me from the aerial combat for now? I can't fly without the controller after all.'

Asuna gave a helpless smile even as Sigurd snorted, finding it both amusing and insulting as he sheathed his sword again.

'Very well. I would not want my reputation to be stained just because you are unable to put up at least token resistance.'

Sigurd scoffed even as he took up position himself, Asuna did the same before she paused when making her selection on the duel invitation.

'Say... let's make this a death match.'

Asuna mentioned casually, causing the spectators to give a confused cry at how a newbie was asking for a Death Match against one of the strongest players in the race.

'After all, there's no way that you'll lose, right?'

Asuna goaded him while the crowd gossiped amongst themselves, but as she expected Sigurd only grinned as he barked orders at the crowd to not revive her if she died in battle.

'That'll teach you to show some manners. Very well then, a death match it shall be.'

As the two of them pressed the icons to reaffirm the duel, and the thirty second timer started to count down, Leafa's eyes was on Asuna even as she took a deep breath and readied her hand on her rapier as well.

Sigurd might have been defeated by her, but that was only during a simple first-strike duel, and not a death-match. But then again, knowing what Asuna-san was doing...

'DUEL-START!'

The system announced dramatically and was instantly rewarded with a flash of light as Asuna, the _flash,_ darted forward towards Sigurd before he could even register what was happening.

It was only because Leafa was anticipating it did she see Asuna literally kicking herself forward before delivering a sharp chastise to Sigurd's neck, stabbing it without mercy before she followed it up with a quick slash to deflect the half-hearted guard that Sigurd had tried to raise in response. The duel was on!

* * *

..

In the end, to everyone's surprise and shock, besides Leafa of course, Asuna had came out triumphant as she was just too fast, had gotten into Sigurd's guard and had disarmed him by striking his sword-arm repeatedly till he dropped it, just like how Asuna did so before in the previous encounter. With his only offensive weapon and equipment gone, or at least, him being rendered unable to even wield his weapon properly before he could really put up a counter-attack, it had been a total crushing, and humiliating defeat for Sigurd. At this point, the death penalty was nothing compared to the stain on his reputation at being beaten by a 'newbie' with inferior weapons.

What was painful to watch however was how he had been literally stabbed to death slowly due to Asuna's weaker weapon and Sigurd's better armor. The last few minutes was Sigurd telling Asuna to stop, or trying to as periodically she would stab Sigurd on the neck to stop him talking and trying to negotiate a surrender.

It was, actually quite pathetic really how it all ended, with many of the spectators leaving at seeing the sight of a well-known player being humbled by the other. A portion of the spectators were also shivering in fear of how Asuna was literally killing Sigurd, and might be having pleasure or joy in doing so slowly. Death by a thousand paper cuts indeed.

'Ahh~ I guess I proved my point~'

Asuna smiled cheerfully even as Leafa gave yet another sigh as she shook her head at the memory, Sigurd, flat out on his back and begging for mercy from Asuna as she continued to stab him with her sword. Leafa had wondered why Asuna had switched back to the basic rapier she bought back in the the first town, now she knew it was to just prove a point.

In ALO, the game was focused more on one's own capability and muscle memory and less about grinding for levels, and statistics. Thus it was highly possible that a newbie, who was a veteran of other VRMMORPGs, might be much better than a so called veteran in ALO, where basic combat wasn't heavily dependent on statistics as much as it was about careful strategy, planning, and individual skill and experience. There was still a steep learning curve after all, seeing how ALO's battles were constantly taking place in the air and not on solid ground. Not to mention how when casting magic spells in ALO, the Caster would have to stand still and to recite those spells before they could cast it. There's no stats that would help to reduce casting spells and one's proficiency with spells was tied directly to the language and speed of tongue.

But since this was a sword fight, and one that was taking place on solid ground, Asuna had effectively taken away all the advantages that Sigurd might had over her besides his equipment, which in the end had simply prolonged his humiliation at her hands.

Leafa should have remembered what Yui had told her about Asuna, that she was one of the strongest players in SAO after her Onii-chan, the two of them were responsible for clearing the game and saving everyone after all. And all that was achieved despite having not being trained in any sports or martial arts form. It must have came from talent, and even if Asuna did home those talents in a life-and-death game, it made Leafa feel extremely complicated at seeing how strong Asuna truly was.

* * *

..

For Asuna she wasn't exactly 100% sure why she went all out in her duel with the braggart Sigurd, but after seeing the complicated expression on Leafa's face immediately after the duel, she leaned closer to hold Leafa's hands even as she pulled the younger girl towards the tower again.

After the duel had ended, Asuna had glared at the subordinates that tried to revive Sigurd till they had backed off, some even fleeing from her before she crossed her arms and huffed. She was of course, somewhat embarrassed by how most of the Sylph spectators cheered and applauded her performance, most of them shouting encouragement even as Asuna went back to Leafa's side. There she had found the young girl gripping her own arm in worry even as Yui greeted her Mama cheerfully as she rubbed her small face against her cheek affectionately.

'Leafa?'

'A-Ah, s-sorry...'

Leafa squeaked in reply as she looked up to Asuna before she looked down again, her eyes fixated on her own feet for a moment even as a blush started to spread down her neck, a sign that she was really embarrassed, and that caused Asuna to tilt her head slightly in confusion even as she waited patiently for her to speak.

'I'm sorry... because of me, I... Asuna-san you have to duel with Sigurd-san... now he'll no doubt be targeting you...'

Leafa's words made Asuna frown, but Leafa wasn't done yet as she finally looked up even as her hands clasped Asuna's hands as well.

'I don't want that to happen to you because of me, Asuna-san... I should have said something earlier, then maybe Asuna-san wouldn't have to go to that extent... Sigurd-san, he is the assistant lord after all, if Asuna-san gets into trouble because I didn't inform Sigurd-san...'

Leafa bit her lip in worry but she couldn't meet Asuna's eyes when the older girl chuckled softly before again pulling Leafa towards the tower. They might not have much privacy due to the ruckus that Asuna had kicked up, but it was still a good idea to at least maintain an image of calm and normalcy to not attract more attention.

Asuna also felt that Leafa was a little too hard on herself seeing how she was not behaving like the usual confident girl that she was. Asuna had seen how she had stood up to Sigurd at the start of their conversation, the guy named Sigurd wasn't being reasonable in any way, but she had wilted somewhat when Sigurd mentioned about being the Assistant Lord of the Sylph race, and even more so when he declared about something regarding a renegade. Asuna had no idea what a renegade was, but she supposed it was a bad thing when Leafa hadn't said a single word edgewise, or even made a move to stop them when Asuna had continued on with the duel anyway.

Asuna had assumed, quite wrongly in fact, that Leafa was simply supporting her course of actions. She meant what she said of course, that she truly looked down on Sigurd. The man treated individuals like they belonged to him, no one truly belonged to anyone unless they wish to do that. Just like how she belonged to Kirito-kun, and Kirito-kun belonged to her willingly. For someone who obviously had no interest in the concept of 'individuals' or 'self' and was only concerned about himself, it was amazing that he could even climb up to the position of an Assistant Lord, whatever that was.

She too hadn't been impressed by the way he looked down on newbies, treating them like they were nothing more than dirt to be scraped off from his foot. In all of honesty, perhaps it was Asuna's own pride and reputation that made her a little angry at being dismissed like that. Especially since he didn't even look at her properly in the eye even when she was speaking to her. He obviously was fixated with strength to, but out of all the reasons. Perhaps the most important reason of all, that she had just realized but had acted on unconsciously, was perhaps due to Leafa.

'If there's one person to blame, I guess it's Leafa-chan.'

Asuna's words caused Leafa to flinch as she looked back at her with a betrayed and horrified expression.

'Well, he was making eyes at my sister-in-law, of course I had to defend her from perverted older men. Kirito-kun would never forgive me if I didn't.'

Asuna gave a mocking pout even as she crossed her arms while glaring at Leafa for being too adorable for her own good.

'W-Wha?'

Leafa was apparently incapable of speaking coherent words even as Asuna frowned while scrutinizing Leafa's dress with a speculative glance.

'Leafa-chan is very cute and adorable after all. I'm sure that Leafa-chan would have many suitors by now? I remember that time I had 5 different individuals try to propose to me.'

..

So Asuna was perhaps exaggerating that point, it was just around 2 per day for about 2 weeks straight after she made her grand 'debut' as part of the Knights of the Blood, but she digressed, that was something that she would _never_ admit to Kirito for as long as she lived. Never did she dream that Kirito had swore to himself that he would _never_ admit to having an entire group of female fans chase after him after _his_ own 'debut' as the **Black Swordsman** in one particularly grueling boss battle that took place near the town of that particular floor.

'With Leafa-chan so adorable, I wouldn't be surprised if that pervert wanted your body instead of you. That's what men does after all, they just treat women like that till one teaches them a lesson.'

Asuna continued on with more gusto till Leafa stopped her by pulling her hand hard, stopping her still as she told Asuna that she didn't really go through with all that, because of her, did she?

'Sigurd-san is a very hard person to get along with, but he is... without a doubt, a very powerful individual in the Sylph Race and in ALO as well. Even if Asuna-san was able to defeat him in a duel this time, the next time... he'll try his best to make things difficult for Asuna-san...'

'Well, Leafa-chan would also be a target too, I guess I should have thought things over a little.'

Asuna dismissed Leafa's fears easily, causing the younger girl's eyes to widen at how casually she was taking the entire situation in. Sure, Sigurd was being quite a mean and arrogant braggart, but there was no real reason to humiliate him to that extent. It was exactly like what Agil-san, Thinker-san and Asuna's father had warned Asuna about in the first place, that she should always be concerned about the entire picture. In this case, was aggravating and teaching Sigurd-san really worth the troubles that he might cause for the two of them in the future.

Perhaps Leafa would be off the hook due to how Asuna had obviously been the person who had 'dragged' her along, but as she was still accompanying Asuna anyway, Asuna's actions made have just made their task indefinitely tougher. Especially if Sigurd wielded that influence of his to make Asuna a renegade, or to even send others after her.

Asuna was strong, there was no doubt about it, but she was a player who was focused more on Agi/Dex than on the other stats. That meant that if she didn't have a better weapon, she would take ages to defeat a veteran with much better equipment than she did. Time was of the essence in this mission. Asuna had told Leafa that they only had a week, perhaps even lesser before Noboyuki Sugou would effectively take over the entire company, shutting her out and probably trying to squeeze Asuna dry till she submit to him.

Not that she would ever do that.

'That's not enough, Asuna-san! What if Sigurd-san sends someone after us? Or what if they raise a complaint to Sakuya-san? We... cannot afford any more setbacks or distractions!'

'That's indeed true, but even before that, what I said was true. I would still have challenged Sigurd to a duel because he was treating you badly, Leafa-chan.'

Asuna gave a sigh as she pulled Leafa to a hug, squeezing her slightly even as the younger girl simply froze in shock at the sudden hug out of nowhere. It wasn't that she imagined Asuna to be a cold person, but having her initiate the contact was also quite a shock.

'Kirito-kun told me before that he would never allow anyone to die in his party ever again. Leafa-chan, your brother was someone who valued his friends more than anything else, to the extent that he would forget and neglect himself if his friends needed it. Kirito-kun, he... became that way because of many things that happened in SAO. But it was that part of him that I love the most too, for he is always so loyal, always so thoughtful... and always cherished his friends. That's why, when I saw someone ill-treat their party members, even if they aren't their friends, I couldn't stop myself. In battle, we rely on each other and we must always remember that just as I am guarding someone's back, someone else is guarding me as well. You'll never enjoy the game under the command of someone like Sigurd, Leafa-chan. And I don't care what he says, or what he does... all I know is that, I would never hand over my adorable Leafa-chan to someone like that, I definitely won't!'

Asuna teased even as Leafa turned redder than ever, finally pushing her away as she crossed her arms haughtily as well.

'A-Ahaha! T-That's r-really... really?'

Leafa's retort feel flat when Asuna nodded solemnly, and the image was reinforced deeper into Leafa's mind as Yui followed her mother's example and nodded her head sternly while mirroring her actions.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Actually the most embarrassing part is that I'm not 100% sure there's a death match setting in ALO at all.**

**Whoops.**


	12. Situations Abound

**The Captive Swordsman **

**Chapter 12****— ****Situations Abound**

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Irregular update schedule. Sorry!**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity _****for the beta!**

* * *

..

Leafa could not help but stare at the older girl in front of her, the person who was in love with her Onii-chan, the person who was also responsible for breaking and dashing her hopes and chance to confess to her Onii-chan.

She knew it was wrong for her to do so, but she couldn't stop lying to herself after spending such a long time apart from him.

Leafa, no, Kirigaya Suguha had always looked up to her onii-chan, Kirigaya Kazuto for as long as she could remember. That feeling however changed to something else after her mother, Kirigaya Midori revealed that Kazuto Onii-chan was her adopted older brother, and that they were non-blood related cousins.

It was wrong for her to feel that way when her Onii-chan, or cousin was stuck in Sword Art Online without her knowing what was going on inside. But it was during that time that Suguha realized how important her Onii-chan was to her.

Perhaps she had already sensed something was wrong when a few years ago, Kazuto Onii-chan started to keep her distance from her. It wasn't really ostracising, nor was it really an estranged relationship, it was akin to him keeping them at arms bay while still coexisting with them. Suguha didn't want to think that it was something she did that made her Onii-chan behave that way, but since there wasn't any alternative, Suguha was at her wits end at what to do. Making the matter worse was how she was too afraid to ask him what went wrong between the two of them as well.

Perhaps that was when it had started, perhaps her feelings and expectations of wanting to become the best little sister she could to Kazuto Onii-chan started changing to something different then.

She didn't want to ask him as she was embarrassed, and since she kept thinking about that, perhaps her own feelings for her Onii-chan had already started to take root at that particular point without her knowing?

After all, wasn't love all about always thinking about a particular person, always wanting the best for that person, to always want to be with them, to give them all that she has?

Suguha certainly felt that way when she found out that her onii-chan was one of those ten thousand who was stuck in Sword Art Online, and those feelings had came to light after her mother revealed to her that her Onii-chan was actually adopted, and that her love for him could be real and was allowed. That was the trigger that had turned everything around, and perhaps that was also the reason that she had taken a few days to calm herself down from the shock, depression as well as her own conflicted feelings about the feelings of affection that were shifting towards love for her onii-chan.

It was wrong at first, so Suguha had suppressed it, but now that it was... okay, that it was allowed, that it was possible now, did Suguha find herself in a position where she _might_ lose her Onii-chan before she could express her feelings for him.

Even if it might never be, Suguha had told herself that if her Onii-chan wakes up, she'll definitely tell him about what she felt for him no matter what.

..

At least, that was the plan, till Yuuki Asuna popped out of nowhere with her outrageous claim that totally ruined all of her chances. Suguha wouldn't say that she was a person who was easily jealous, but perhaps it was jealousy that did make her feel so much hostility for Asuna-san at the start.

This was a person who had came out of nowhere, who had no apparent relation to her Onii-chan at all, and yet had the cheek to claim that she was his Onii-chan's lover and wife. That was simply, outrageous, and Suguha couldn't and wouldn't accept it no matter what.

So even when Asuna-san had explained exactly what had happened between the two of them, some of the events causing her to shudder in fear at how close they had been to death, Suguha wasn't totally convinced or won over.

Her mother was won over though, a fact that made Suguha more than hesitant enough when she approached her last night. But right now, what Asuna-san was saying and telling her was enough to rock Suguha's entire world again.

She had to admit that she had decided to help Asuna-san in this mission because she could save Onii-chan. Although Asuna-san never said so explicitly, Suguha knew that her onii-chan got into this mess because of Asuna-san. She did not know why Asuna-san was keeping that fact from her, or why she had deigned it not important enough to at least apologize to her about it, she was more or less appeased after seeing the length that Asuna-san was willing to go through to save her onii-chan.

A selfish part of her reminded Suguha that Asuna-san owed her onii-chan at least _that_ much, for she was at fault in the first place. That might be true, but Suguha didn't really want to hold a grudge against Asuna-san for that. It might be due to other reasons, like how Asuna-san might have thought that she knew what was going on after eavesdropping on the conversation between Asuna-san and that man, or perhaps she was planning to explain in further detail what was going on later.

Suguha found herself finding and creating many new reasons for Asuna-san on her behalf that she didn't want to create in the first place. Or was she creating excuses for herself for not _asking_ Asuna-san instead?

Suguha wasn't sure, perhaps she was never sure when it came to her Onii-chan. But this time, this one time... She wanted to be sure, for if she didn't know what and in what manner did Asuna-san viewed her, Suguha knew she would regret it.

..

'Asuna-san, who... how do you view me as... '

'How do I view... you as?'

Leafa asked her softly even as she looked down at her feet again. Her entire body was trembling again, this time not in fear of what might happen if Sigurd wielded his influence to try and get back at them, but this time in frustration and maybe anger.

That was perhaps the last straw for Leafa, it was akin to Asuna stepping on the last vestiges of her pride. She was not a helpless warrior, and she was _definitely _not accepting of Asuna-san just yet as a suitor, or wife to her Onii-chan.

But Asuna-san was certainly behaving like her future with her Onii-chan was secured and set in stone, that part itself really, really did make Leafa upset.

'Yes... who am I to you, Asuna-san.'

Leafa gritted her teeth to stop herself from grinding them together, rubbing molars as she watched Asuna-san wonder for a moment before smiling happily at her.

'Leafa-chan is my adorable sister-in-law! Kirito-kun and I are married after all, right, Yui? Leafa-chan is your aunt neh~'

'Leafa nee-chan~'

Yui raised her hands in the air childishly while celebrating, Leafa however, didn't find this funny at all. She never did acknowledge Asuna-san and her onii-chan being together, and she thought she never would till she could speak with him about it.

So having Asuna-san treat her like that was a huge blow to her.

'N-No... I-I'm not.'

'Leafa-chan?'

'I'm... I'm not your sister-in-law, Asuna-san...'

Leafa managed to grit out after a while of enforced calm even as she stared at Asuna defiantly, not wanting to back down from her own position, that of someone who was very close and had known Kirigaya Kazuto longer than she had.

'I'm Onii-chan's step-sister! Onii-chan was adopted to the family, so I'm not really your daughter-in-law, Asuna-san! So... So, don't treat me like one!'

Leaf pointed a finger at Asuna even as she declared dramatically. She might be mad, no, she was beyond mad now at being dismissed so easily by Asuna. She might not have told Onii-chan her feelings, but she was not going to back down from this challenge of her feelings that Asuna-san has unwillingly set up between the two of them.

'Leafa-chan?'

..

Asuna was confused, this was not how she wanted her relationship with Leafa/Suguha to become. She had been making steady process, or so she had thought, in winning over Suguha and perhaps making her accept the relationship between the two of them. Winning over her family as well as Kirito-kun's family was always going to be somewhat of a challenge to her, and one of the biggest obstacle for her was Suguha, or Leafa-chan in front of her.

Asuna hoped that it wasn't her, herself who was at fault for Suguha not liking her, and was the circumstances that she had introduced herself to Suguha and her family. Honestly, after looking back, Asuna acknowledge, recognized and was more than a little regretful at how her initial introduction had panned out with the Kirigaya family, but there's no point crying over spilt milk now.

'Asuna-san, I might not have made myself clear before, but please allow me to set a few things straight with you. If I don't, I believe the misunderstandings between the two of us will continue, and I honestly, do not want that to happen.'

Leafa took another breath even as she smiled grimly at Asuna, Asuna had seen similar smiles like that before, most vividly on Kirito's face when he made the decision to challenge the final boss, Kayaba Akihiko when she was paralysed and unable to even stop him.

Leafa started leading Asuna away from the main lobby of the tower to a more secluded side where the two of them could seat down in semi-private booth to speak privately.

A part of Asuna was nervous, nervous for she had no idea what Leafa was going to tell her, and the other part was impatience, for she had shown her hand to Leafa, or at least she believe she had. So, what was it that Leafa wanted to tell her now?

'So Leafa-chan, is Kirito-kun's step-sister?'

Asuna asked timidly even as Leafa nodded her head. Yui on the other hand had quite a solemn face on as she settled down on the table, exchanging looks between the two of them as they exchanged conversations.

'I... I didn't know that. Does Kirito-kun knows?'

Asuna admitted with a small smile and she lowered her head a little when Leafa said that he does.

'He found out a long time ago. But that's not important, Asuna-san. What's important is why I am helping you, Asuna-san.'

That was a topic that did make Asuna suffer a setback as she just stared at Leafa, dumbstuck and confused at what she was saying. Even Yui was taken aback as she opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Asuna as she spoke out in criticism.

'That's wrong! There shouldn't be a reason to want to help and save Kirito-kun, Leafa-chan! You know that!'

'No, that's wrong, Asuna-san. And... you know it too. Even if our intentions are right, Asuna-san has her own reasons for wanting to save Onii-chan. Even if that isn't the main reason, or what is important, Asuna-san still has reasons to save Onii-chan, just like I do.'

Asuna didn't like the direction that this conversation was heading towards but she had no choice but to nod her head in agreement.

'T-Then... Even so, even so... Helping Kirito-kun is my reason for coming here and asking Leafa-chan for help.'

Asuna persisted but Leafa was having none of that as she pointed a finger at her sternly again.

'That might be true, but you would also want to return to Onii-chan's side, or for Onii-chan to return to your side, Asuna-san. You might want to save Onii-chan, but that's only because you love Onii-chan, right?'

Asuna had no problems answering this, but she added on that wasn't the end of the equation just yet.

'Even so, Leafa-chan, that's not the only reason I'm doing so. My friends, Kirito-kun's friends and all the players of SAO would want to help him, to save Kirito-kun because he saved them. It's not just for me, Leafa-chan... so why are you asking this now? We should be going now, to Kirito-kun!'

'Asuna-san, that just tells me that there is a lot of things that Asuna-san is hiding from me. I... don't know who Onii-chan's friends are, and I definitely don't know everything is going on, all of it... but I'll tell Asuna-san why I want to help you to find Onii-chan. Perhaps... after that, Asuna-can can tell me what is really going on?'

'Leafa-chan?'

Asuna watched as Leafa closed her eyes to steady her own nerves before she declared to Asuna.

'I want to help Onii-chan, Onii-chan is someone important to me... and knowing that he might be here, that I could help him is why I'm helping you, Asuna-san. I... I haven't decided what I feel about you, Asuna-san. I like you, Asuna-san, you are a really nice person, and I can understand why Onii-chan might like you. But in the end... when it comes to Onii-chan, I can't accept Asuna-san so easily after all.'

Leafa paused before she looked up to stare at Asuna, causing Asuna to start as Leafa pressed a hand against her chest while explaining, elaborating that she meant what she said.

'Because I love Onii-chan, Asuna-san. And I want to tell Onii-chan that. Even if I know that Onii-chan might still like Asuna-san and would reject me, and even if it would change our family and our relationship, I still want to tell Onii-chan that.'

Asuna inhaled sharply at Leafa's words, even Yui seemed unable to react properly to her confession as Leafa continued to stare at Asuna, waiting for her response to her words.

But Asuna found herself unable to properly react, she just couldn't. She knew instinctively that she had some love rivals when it comes to Kirito-kun, it was hard for such an amazing person not to have at least a few suitors, but she had never truly considered them to be as such.

Lisbeth was her best friend, and since she had already given her blessings for a long lasting relationship between the two of them, Asuna believe that both Lisbeth and Kirito-kun would simply remain as good friends. Maybe that wasn't true, as Lisbeth had accepted her loss during that last meeting she had with her, together with the younger girl Silica.

That's right, Silica was a love rival too, only not really, because Asuna felt that Silica only viewed Kirito-kun as a very close older brother to her.

Then again, perhaps Silica was a rival to Suguha then?

There might be other girls that Asuna didn't know about, but this was honestly the first person who confronted her directly about her love for Kirito-kun. Less confronted and more challenged actually. So Asuna wasn't really sure how she should react to Leafa's challenge.

Asuna snuck a peek down to Yui, only to see her daughter frowning in deep thought as the two of them continued to sit in their seats in silence. There was no help from that avenue, that fact was enough to make Asuna panic just a little. The entire mood was spoiled too for it was awkward and tense due to Leafa's confession while Asuna weighed her own options and replies.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for the two of them, this conversation would have to be continued in another time as Yui suddenly shifted while calling out.

'Mama, Leafa Nee-chan, someone is coming! It's Sigurd-san!'

Yui's warning snapped the two of them out of their thoughts and the two of them turned as one to see that it was indeed Sigurd who was heading their way. But what made Asuna tense even further was how Leafa paled and mumbled that it was 'Sakuya' who was coming.

* * *

..

'Are we intruding then, Leafa, Asuna-san?'

The older looking woman with long black hair introduced herself as Sakuya, the Lord of the Sylph Race even as Leafa bowed to her respectfully. Asuna followed her example while keeping her face mostly impassive as she did not know what this conversation was heading to.

Sigurd was looking very subdued, none of his cockiness or arrogance showing like how it was earlier on. That was enough to make Asuna feel slightly more at ease even as she shook her head slightly.

'No, it's not, Sakuya-san. It is an honour to meet you. I am Asuna.'

Asuna introduced herself as simply as possible while Leafa just smiled nervously at Sakuya, who was appraising her slowly, probably making her own mind about something even as she told Leafa to be at ease.

'I'm not here to reprimand you, Leafa, or you, Asuna-san. Instead, I came here to apologize to you on behalf of my subordinate, Sigurd.'

Asuna was relieved that it had turned out this way, even if she had her own doubts about how willing or how sincere Sigurd was about this apology.

'Ah... I must apologize for my overzealous actions regarding that matter as well. It's... please, forgive me as well.'

Sigurd obviously knew what Asuna was referring to and his cheek twitched for a moment as Asuna bowed to Sakuya too, making the older woman smile as well before she continued.

'Nonetheless, you did prove your point to all of us, especially Sigurd, about what players should be allowed to do. I sincerely apologize if you have had a very bad impression of how the Sylph race try to train our dedicated players.'

'A-Ah, no... but, yes... I am quite disappointed with it. I know we should all be working together, but before all that, we should be allowed to do things that we want to and because we are obligated to. We are all fellow people here, regardless of our levels or experience in the game itself. That's what... someone very precious to me told me. Ahaha... I was over my head when I challenged Sigurd-san, I offer my sincere apologies as well for going on a head like this...'

Asuna bowed in apology as she tried to explain herself, causing Sakuya to smile even brighter as she nodded in agreement. With a flourish she opened her fan to conceal the fast growing smile she had from Asuna's words.

'Bravo, that was a good speech. I wish we could have a charismatic person like you within our ranks, Asuna-san, it would make our discussions much more fruitful, your words speak the simple truth that everyone have neglected thus far, we are players, with equal rights and choice... Well spoken, well spoken indeed!'

Sakuya shut her fan with an audible snap as she beamed at Asuna. Beside her, Leafa relaxed just a little even as the entourage that had followed Sakuya (which was ignored by her with the exception of Sigurd), shifted slightly at the unusual situation.

'It is also quite surprising to me that I have not seen you before, a person of such skill... is hard to miss after all.'

Asuna caught the slight glint in Sigurd's eyes when Sakuya asked that casually and she swallowed nervously. Since her data was transferred over from SAO, she was very strong despite being new, but if that was discovered, she might be labelled a hacker by others who knew that. Thankfully though, Asuna had already had a discussion with Yui over how several scenarios that she could use to cover that discrepancy.

'I've played in other VMMORPGs before and I'm used to the controls. I just didn't expect it to be so similar that I could replicate what I did in the other games. I'm thinking of trying out other styles too when I get more settled down in ALO.'

Asuna answered with an eager smile that made Sakuya frown even more as she compared her own information with Asuna's explanation.

'So Asuna-san is really a new player to Alfheim Online? So it seems that the rumours were true after all... I had my doubts, even if it was provided by Recon... but I just did not expect, or perhaps hope that there would be one who choose the Sylph race as well... I must have more faith in our player race... Well then! It seems that the balance of power would not swing from us that easily if we have such a powerful addition. I need to correct myself, Asuna-san... it is a huge relief that we've met today, Asuna-san.'

Sakuya gave a very warm smile again even as Leafa asked her about the rumours that she was muttering about a few moments ago.

'Ah, yes. It has came to our attention that there was suddenly an influx of new players in ALO a day ago, and that some of them were labelled as hackers due to the very high stats even though they just entered the game. However since they declared that it might be system error and the GMs left it at that, we thought the information given to us were inaccurate, or at least exaggerated. Seeing one player who fits the bill, in this case Asuna-san, it is definitely something to be happy about.'

Asuna had thought that she would be labelled a hacker, and in the worst case scenario, would be banned out of the game, but it seemed that was not the case as Sakuya-san continued.

'If they were not hackers and are like you, players who migrated from another game, I guess it's the developers' fault to allow you guys to transfer your stats to ALO as well... Well, at least we have one of those players in Sylph race, I guess we still got lucky. There was a majority who appeared in the Salamanders, a few in the Undines, Gnomes and Cait Siths... so to have Asuna-san pick the Sylph race is indeed a blessing for us.'

Sakuya-san nodded her head even as she rubbed her chin, ignoring the sour look on Sigurd's face even as he digested that information. With that news, his lost was expected if he was facing a top-ranked player from another VMMORPG. The sting on his pride was alleviated somewhat, but it still stung to lose so utterly against another player.

'Asuna-san must be a top-ranked player in the earlier VMMORG, that would explain how you were able to defeat Sigurd here. Sigurd is one of the top swordsman in the Sylph race after all.'

Sakuya smiled as Sigurd walked up to stand beside his leader, his facial expressions stiff even as Asuna gave him an apologetic or perhaps awkward smile in return.

'If Sigurd-san wasn't caught off-guard by my initial charge, I'm sure that our battle would ended differently.'

'Hmph... regardless of what happened, I offer my apologies for my behavior earlier to you and Leafa, I was speaking out of place and did not intend any disrespect to Leafa, or you.'

'Ahaha... Well, let's leave it at that...'

'Indeed, it would not be a good thing if the strongest players of the Sylph race were to butt heads together. Sigurd, Asuna, please calm down. The two of you might not have gotten off on the right foot, but from this point onwards, we are allies. And allies, do not, fight, each other.'

Sakuya stressed with a dangerous smile even as she placed a hand on each of their shoulders. The two parties involved immediately quietened down before nodding their heads in agreement. A primal part of Asuna told her that if she did not agree, she would be in danger, and this coming from a player who faced death multiple times in SAO, that was saying something.

Sigurd was cowed too, but he seemed unable to recover from that experience as well as Asuna as he remained stiff even as Sakuya chuckled lightly at the two of them supposedly 'making up' with one another.

'Well then, would you be so kind to have some tea with us, Asuna-san? I'm sure that there is a lot of things you would like to know about ALO, we would do our best to try and get you settled within the game itself. What do you say?'

..

Leafa could tell that neither parties really meant what they were saying, both of their first impression were not exactly ideal.

Oh who was she kidding, they were practically daring the other party to make a move right now. Leafa could feel the tension drain from her body due to the ridiculousness of the situation. She didn't even have the strength to even continue their conversation from earlier and could only be swept together with Asuna by Sakuya-san to a small cafe within the tower complex itself.

* * *

**Author's Notes: I welcome feedback, so if there's anything you wish to highlight, feel free.**

**Thank you for your support!**


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